Eyes to the Sky
by AngelPines
Summary: It was common sense to strive for a normal life. Without any drastic changes, right? Unfortunately, being forced to save the world from giant alien robots locked in a civil war by helping them find a powerful metal cube using Sam's glasses, whilst combating a serious case of memory loss... there goes normality, right out the Camaro's window.
1. Something Witwicky This Way Comes

****Disclaimer: Hello! I'm Angel, and this is my first attempt at writing for this fandom.****

 ** **I've done a story similar to this in the past, where a person enters a show/game/movie, but I also research material to add into it from other sources. Stuff that's from the same world, but not shown upfront. That's what I decided to do here with Transformers. After seeing Bumblebee, and using my love of several of the cartoons and video games, I wanted to try my hand at doing the same here: make a Transformers movie story, but with a more in-depth plot and deeper characters.****

 ** **I only own Blake. Everything else belongs to Hasbro, and... well, whoever else owns Transformers. I think it's just them though.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

My head hurt. Hurt, as in it felt like a sledgehammer was pounding against an anvil inside my skull. Banging again, and again, and again. __So... what was the number of that car that hit me? Ow.__ Sitting up, even though it was done slowly, still caused a head rush, making me sway back and forth. "E-eugh..."

One could compare this to a hangover, but from what I could remember, I didn't drink anything in the past few months. So then, why was I like this? An absolute wreck? Blearily, my eyes cracked open, blinking away the tiredness. "What the-this... this isn't my living room." Lamps were spread out everywhere, bathing the cream painted room in a soft yellow glow. It was already night outside, judging from the darkness I saw out of the screen door leading to a fenced backyard. The decorations, well-manicured house plants on tables and shelves with drapes to accompany the design of it all; none of this suited my personal tastes. Sure, it was nice, but all of it proved that I was in a stranger's home.

 _ _What home though, is the big problem. At least they got nice taste in plants.__ Inside and outside, judging from the deck lights. "Hello?" I looked down at the dark wooden coffee table, and the glass of water and plate of snacks laid out. Was that for me, or for whoever lived there? "Is anyone home?" Footsteps echoed from within a room in the house, and I watched an older redheaded woman come out. A white blouse with pink and purple flowers on it, and a dark blue skirt falling to her knees. Another glass of water was in her hand, leading me to assume she just came from the kitchen.

"Oh, thank goodness you've come to." She sat the drink on a coaster, taking a seat in a tan recliner that matched the sofa I was asleep on. "How are you feeling, dear?" The relief in her voice took me a little off guard, not at all matching the exhausted eyes and wrinkled cheeks and forehead.

"I... my head feels like it's going to split open, but... I think I'm fine," I replied slowly, thinking over the question carefully. Finally sitting upright, I looked over my overall appearance. A baggy dark grey t-shirt and black leggings with a few holes torn in the knees. In short, suited for pure comfort only. __Where are my socks and shoes?__ I blinked, and returned my attention back to her. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

She smiled, and held out her hand, which I took. "I'm Judy Witwicky." We shook, and I paused as I repeated it over in my head. __Witwicky, huh? Wonder what that is.__

"Blake Wile. Nice to meet you," I replied. "If you don't mind, Mrs. Witwicky, but where am I?"

Her face fell a little, and sighed. "My son found you passed out on the sidewalk while my husband was driving him home from school. We didn't see any injuries on you, but you had been asleep for several hours now." I was unconscious on the street? __This is going bad to worse, very fast.__ "What do you remember?"

"Hmm... what do I remember?" I had gotten home from work, still sore from working all day. After changing from my stained overalls into the clothes I was now wearing, and warming up a can of tomato soup for supper, I had nestled down in my living room to eat. After that though... I couldn't recall anything. The day had gone just as any other, with nothing that stood out. __Just like any other, other than the glorious fact I am somewhere entirely different that is not my apartment.__ "I came home from work, ate, and then that's it. Sorry, but I can't recall much more."

"Mom!" The furious pounding of footsteps echoed down from a staircase, and a teenager flew around the corner. His dark brown hair was disheveled, sticking out at odd places from not being combed recently and stood against his young face. Just like myself, he seemed just as stressed as I was. For what, it was hard to say. Maybe it was something normal for him? "Have you seen grandfather's old sailing gear?"

"Try the storage room, Sammy," Judy suggested. The teen, Sam, nodded and went to do just that, muttering under his breath. __What, Sammy isn't his name?__ Right before he left the living room, he stopped to look at me, seeing that I had finally woken up.

"Blake. Nice to meet you, Sammy." I grinned, seeing the annoyed look cross his face.

"It's Sam, actually. I got to get to work." He vanished from the room, and Judy got up from her seat.

"I better get supper ready. Make yourself at home. We can call the local police department if you can't get a hold of anyone." Just like her son, she got up and left. __Sam, huh? Bet that's short for Samuel.__ Which meant his name would be Samuel Witwacky. __Wait. Wit... wicky. I'm gonna keep slipping up on that, aren't I?__ Why did that sound so familiar, Witwicky? I didn't know anyone with that last name, so why did it stand out?

"Maybe I knew someone when I was younger?" Sam returned to the room, carrying a large cardboard box filled with nautical equipment that I couldn't even begin to distinguish. "So, what is this project about, anyway?"

Sam looked up from rummaging through the contents, surprised I was interested. __Don't have anything better to do.__ "Oh. It's a genealogy report about some family member of your choosing. I figured my grandfather was interesting enough to talk about in front of everyone." He pushed the other water glass, the one that was sitting there when I woke up, closer to me. "You look like you need it."

"Thanks." I picked it up, feeling the coolness against my palms. "Hey, Sam? Is this for a college class, or something?"

"College?" His attention was fully on me now, and he gave a small and awkward laugh. __Awkward. Yeah, that seems to sum him up.__ "No, no. I'm still in high school. Grade eleven, actually. What about you?"

"Attended my local community college for mechanical work, and moved out after I was finished. I've been helping out at this small auto repair shop for the past year." I smiled for a moment, amused at how flustered he got before moving along the couch to get closer to the box. "That's a... sextant, right?"

"Yeah. Hey, um, d-do you think you can help me prepare for this? I have until Thursday night to prepare. The presentation is on Friday, last period." __It's Tuesday right now, so he's starting a little late. Hope it's not that big of a grade then.__ I picked up the instrument I identified, taking note of how well it was used. From the faint traces of rust from age, and the small cracks in the lens. __This is definitely an old one. Wonder what the age of it is.__ "But, you know, I don't want to pressure you or anything. You've been asleep for almost three hours, and that isn't counting how long you were outside for."

"I'm perfectly well enough to help with something like this, Sam. I did my fair share of projects when I was in high school. Get a pen or a pencil and some lined paper. I'll start looking through the stuff here on what could be shown to your class." He smiled, getting up and heading back through the house. __He seems nice.__ "What else do we have here?" __That's a quadrant, some old maps, and... glasses?__

I picked up the dark metal frame, and held them up to the light of the nearest lamp to look through the tiny circular lenses. They were severely damaged, with both sides covered in tiny scratches. __What are... these?__ I brought the glasses closer to my face, squinting. There were lines, but there were etchings that looked... odd. Different. As if someone took the time to carefully carve out each jumble I found. __There's no way this is just a random mess. It's like they're... some sort of design, or charact-wait. Wait, wait, wait. Hold the metaphorical phone.__

Judy and Sam Witwicky. A project involving a family member and sailing in the eleventh grade, with a pair of old glasses belonging to a grandfather bearing strange... symbols. __These symbols are Cybertronian. Sam-he's the guy from the Transformers movie. Did I really-no.__ No. That was not a possibility. That was-that's ridiculous. Transformers was just a product of Hasbro. A toy franchise that brought out a crazy amount of cartoons, comics, and a film series. It's not real. __Then explain why Sam looks a lot like a younger Shia LaBeouf.__ "Just a coincidence," I reasoned with myself. "A-all of it is just coincidence."

"You okay?" I looked back over at the hallway Sam took, with him returning with several sheets of paper and a pencil stuck behind his ear. "You seem a little distressed."

"I'm fine," I replied, quickly throwing my concerns away for the moment. "Let's get to work." He rested the papers beside the tray, snatching up one of the cheese cubes and throwing it into his mouth before going for the newspapers and other sheets of paper mixed in with the maps. "What's the story with your grandfather anyway? What makes him so interesting?"

"According to my family, he was one of the first to explore the Arctic Circle, back in 1897." Sam waved a hand over the equipment. "All of this belonged to him."

"Well, it's certainly taken care of. Anything else happen to him?" __Please, let this paranoia not be true.__ I was just... drugged, that's all. Or lucid dreaming. Transformers was not real, and I most certainly was not in the 2007 mo-

"He went blind, from what no one could ever figure out. The trip to the Arctic turned him crazy, and started drawing these... symbols, everywhere." Sam held up a sheet of brown paper, with black ink... matching the characters I made out on the glasses. "He kept rambling on and on about some ice man he stumbled across. His wife divorced and remarried, and then that's how I eventually came along." He rested the paper down, and the concern from earlier returned. Returned, kicked down the door I shoved them behind, and started screaming at me through a bullhorn. "Really, Blake, are you sure you're fine? You look like you're about to faint."

 _ _Archibald... Witwicky. This... this is really happening.__ "Y-yeah, Sam. I most definitely... am." With that said, I fell sideways onto the couch, glass falling out of my hand and spilling out over the rug as the world went dark. I could hear the muffled and startled shout from Sam, first crying out my name, and then calling for his mother for help.

Transformers. It may just be a kid's franchise, but the reality of giant robots who could hide in public, some who kill without a second thought, and a secret government sector who dealt with aliens and things not from their world... I was screwed. I was so very, completely screwed.

* * *

 ** **Future updates are going to be a little spaced, but I'll try to**** ** **do**** ** **on**** ** **c**** ** **e-a-month. Chapters will be longer too, since this was just to set up the story.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	2. From A to Bee

**Disclaimer: I have to admit, it's hard to find a decent transcript for this movie.**

 **grapejuice101: I'm glad you like it.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

So, you know how sometimes it seems like time slowed down, or sped up in times of crises? Everything suddenly going out of whack? Yeah, that was pretty much how I felt in the three days I spent at the Witwicky household.

I had essentially scared the living daylights out of Sam when I blacked out, overwhelmed from the knowledge overload. Was I better now? _No, No I wasn't._ Mrs. Witwicky was extremely welcoming, and allowed me to remain at their home until I found a way to contact my parents or anyone else. As far as I knew, she hadn't alerted the police yet, but it was going to happen eventually. _Whether it's before or after Sam gets his car, I don't know._

That... was another matter. A very, very important matter. Bumblebee. Today was Friday, and as I had made clear when I first woke up in this world, I helped Sam prepare for his report. I also was persistent in making sure he didn't try and sell his family's heirlooms in the middle of the presentation, despite his quiet protests. He didn't need his parents finding out about his idea. Sam would get that A, no problem, and when he did, then his dad would be taking him to the used car lot. With the amount of revising and research, there was no doubt.

Ron Witwicky was just as understanding as his wife, and a little more down-to-earth and relaxed when I explained my plight. I liked that, since being stuck in the same building as Judy most of the time just... the bling on the dog was strange to watch. I did help her out in the garden though. Flowers weren't usually my thing, but it was a job I could focus on.

In terms of staying with them, Sam had brought me to their guest room, right across from his disaster zone of a bedroom that I only took a split glance at before closing the door in barely concealed disgust. _Seriously, when was the last time he cleaned? There's clothes everywhere._ The top of the steps led to four rooms all coming off of a small hallway. On the left was the parents' bedroom, and on the right was the bathroom and my room. The end of the hall led straight to Sam's. Just a small, almost empty room, with a twin sized bed, night stand, and desk. All the same wood make as the furniture downstairs, and the bed sheets a nice dark red. Simple, and cozy, and I treasured sleeping in that warm bed.

That, and I was extremely thankful for Mrs. Witwicky lending me some clothes. It was a combination of hers and Sam's though, since he saw I refused to wear the blouses and dress pants I was offered. Currently, it was just a simple white tank top and olive green cargo pants. Sam had also given me a pair of brown sneakers that looked like they were on the brink of falling apart, but I was still happy to have them. I didn't expect anyone to go out buying stuff for me. As far as they knew, I would only be there temporary. _Only for a little while. And then, then I'll go and figure this out._ Well, as long as the government didn't catch wind of me. _I'm going to hate Simmons, aren't I?_ _No matter what, I'll probably see him, and I will_ _severely_ _dislike him._

"Blake, could you come down here? I'm going to pick up Sam, and I was wondering if you would like to come with." I spun around at the desk, a pen in hand and a sheet of paper underneath it. _Time already?_ I looked over at the alarm clock on the stand, seeing that it indeed was almost time for Sam to be leaving.

"Sure, I'll be right down." I pulled open the bottom drawer on my right, and tossed the paper and pen inside. "I'll get back to you later."

I had to plan. I wasn't a huge fan of Transformers, but I had the basics down. I watched some of the different cartoon series, read a few comics, and had seen every film. I couldn't recite information off the top of my head, but what I did know should be enough to figure out what to do next. On the sheet at the moment was a basic sketch of the timeline, outlining the years in which key events took place. The start was where I was currently at, in 2007, and the end was The Last Knight, where I had no clue what year that happened. All of that was on the absolute worst chance that I was... stuck.

 _Just deep breathes, Blake. Take it slowly._ I had no luck figuring things out yet, and there was no luck that I could on my own. Which was all terrible. Really, really terrible. "He's out in the car," Judy called out from her seat in the living room. Giving a quick wave, I hurried out the door and over to the green Austin-Healey 3000 to the parking lot in the back. I had to admit, despite him acting cheap with Sam's first vehicle, he had good taste.

"Ready to go?" I opened the passenger seat, and climbed in. With two seats, it looked like the three of us would be a little squished. _Should I worry about there only being two seat belts?_ Ron appeared to notice my apprehension as he pulled out of the dirt driveway and onto the road, and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, okay? The dealership isn't that far away, and I'll have Sam drive himself back."

"Not really sure if I should feel worried for myself or Sam." He chuckled at my little remark, and I rested my head on my hand, watching the large trees covering the road pass by. _Bumblebee... how's this going to play out?_ He would make the call to the other Autobots tonight, if my sense of timing was correct. Right after the party at the lake with Miles, where Sam then drives Mikaela home. There were multiple options of how this all could play out then, by the looks of things. I could go to the party or stay back, missing the mech try and get the two together by pretending to break down and play suggestive music. I could have a restful sleep, or wake up when Sam starts screeching about his car being stolen and then gets into trouble with the police, who think the poor teen is on drugs.

Options... wow.

Personally, I had no interest in Sam trying to act smooth around his crush, but I wouldn't mind attending the party. I wanted to be more familiar with the small town, and it was a good way to do it. "Here we are." Ron slowed down, pulling along the curb of the road in front of the high school. The students were already flowing out, heading to their respective cars, buses, or simply walking home. I surveyed the crowd, leaning a little out of the car before sitting back down.

"I don't see him. You think he's speaking to the teacher?" I swear, I must have pressed a trigger. The teen threw himself out of the doors, running over to us the instant his eyes caught sight of the Austin-Healey.

"Yes! Yes, yes," he fired off the cheers, skidding to a halt and almost falling over. The report was in his hands, and Sam reached over in front of my face to show it to him. Undoing my belt, I awkwardly moved to what little seat I could find to let him in. "It's an A, dad. See it, loud and clear. So am I good?"

"You're good." He passed it back over as Sam sat down, putting his bag by his feet. I could make out a few of the charts, articles, and sailing equipment sticking out at the top, and no doubt the glasses were somewhere in there too.

"A, huh?" I asked, watching him buckle in as Ron started further into town. "Told you that trying to sell your stuff would hold you back." Sam rolled his eyes, but I knew he was appreciative. There was a good chance had I not said anything, he'd be begging his teacher for that grade. "Tell me, what car are you looking for, anyway?"

"Anything worth 4000 dollars and isn't falling apart," he replied without a second thought. "I'm not being picky." _Well, he is a guy on a budget._ I didn't get my first car until I hit twenty, when my neighbor was selling it off. A sad, sad silver Beetle, with the back bumper having a habit of falling off. _It's seen better days, and they haven't been with me._ "Are we almost there, dad?"

"Almost. I got a little surprise for you, son." We pulled into a parking lot for Porsche, and immediately, a look of excitement and disbelief grew over Sam's face. He pushed himself up, looking at all of the brand new vehicles parked around them. "Yeah, a little surprise."

"No. No, no, no, no! Dad! Oh, you got to be kidding me." Ron glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he kept driving, right over to the rundown dealership three buildings over.

"Yeah. I am. You're not getting a Porsche," he laughed. I covered my mouth, snickering at as the happiness drained from the younger male.

"You two think that's funny? Really? What's wrong with you?" My free hand reached over to pat him on the shoulder, feeling my laughter slowly die out.

"What's wrong is you thought he'd get you that expensive of a car for your first one, Sam," I replied. "Not to mention you said a car that's 4000 dollars, and none of that would even come close to fitting your description. Now, come on." The car parked, and his dad began to get out. "Let's try and find you something worthwhile in this mess." Sam sighed, and followed out to join his dad at the old cars stationed on the other side of the dealership. Once I got out and heard it lock behind me, I continued to move past the building. "I'm going to check out what we got, see if I can find something roadworthy for him," I called back over the music through the sound system.

"You do that, Blake," Ron said. Wandering through the maze of faded cars, I glanced at a red Acura Integra, running a hand over a large dent in the hood. _I could smooth that out, touch up the paint. Not bad at all._ My head snapped up at the sound of an arriving engine, and I looked to the near back of the lot. Parked right next to a rusted yellow 1967 Beetle was a 1977 Camaro, with faint traces of dust still in the air right behind it from having just pulled up.

 _Oh my gosh._ The nerves from when I first woke up returned, intermingled with curiosity. Since everything started the moment Sam finds him, which in turn sets off a massive chain of events, it did put me a little on edge. At the same time-hole cow. I was standing not that far from an actual alien from a different planet. _I mean... I'm from a different dimension, so...?_ Drifting over to the transformer, who remained silent and watchful, I placed a hand on top of the hood. _Still warm._ "Heh... got to say, besides that Integra, you're definitely a front runner." I looked back at Sam and Ron, now joined by the store's owner, and waved an arm in the air. "Hey, Sam! I found it!"

Sam, looking a little awkward at having Bolivia's arm wrapped around his shoulders, ushering him further into the lot, and didn't hesitate to slip away and hurry over. "A Camaro?" He moved to the driver's door, popping it open and sliding inside.

"Hard to find something that tops that. It's an older make, but I guarantee it's the safest one here." The other men finally came over, with Bolivia shouting back at an employee about where the vehicle came from. I looked in through the open window, seeing Sam grasp the steering wheel.

"Feels good." He checked the dashboard, giving an amused smile at the bumblebee air freshener hanging from the mirror. "Have to remove that and the disco ball though."

"I think it gives Bee character." Sam was rubbing the dirt off of the Autobot symbol on the center of the wheel, before looking back at me. _Why is he-oh._ "Sam, there's a bee decoration inside a car that's yellow with black stripes. How could I not call it Bee?"

"Fine, but if it starts chasing flowers, I'm out." Chuckling a little at the reply, I was soon joined by Mr. Witwicky, nodding in agreement at our find.

"How much?" Bolivia stood on the opposite side, hands on the roof and checked it over.

 _Ladies and gents, behold! The sleazy car salesman, complete with floral shirt and hat!_ "Well, considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and the custom paint job..."

"Yeah, but the paint's faded," Sam pointed out.

Bolivia knelt down to look through the window at him. "Y-yeah, but it's custom?"

"It's custom faded?" I bit back a laugh at how the reply was, cornering the owner with his own logic.

"Well, this is your first car. I wouldn't expect you to understand." Bolivia stood up, looking back at us. "Five grand."

"No, I'm not paying over four. Sorry," Ron said. Bolivia got back down, and I could see the heartbreak in Sam's face from how quick his dad shot down the offer.

"Kid, come on, get out," he told him, thumping a hand on the door. "Get out the car."

"No, no, no. You said cars pick their drivers," Sam argued, gripping the wheel a little tighter as if the car would take off without him.

"Well, sometimes they pick a driver with a dad who's too tight on his wallet. Out the car." Clearing his throat, Bolivia straightened up and turned his attention to the Beetle on the right. Sam glumly moved out of the Camaro, all possibility of getting it gone in a flash.

"There's a Fiesta with racing stripes over there," his dad suggested hopefully.

"No, I don't want a Fiesta with racing stripes." Bolivia got into the Bug, closing the door as Sam began to close his. I wasn't paying too much to what he was saying, but I did when the vehicle decided to take things into its own hands. Once it was shut, the passenger door flung open, banging into the Beetle and sending it to the left several inches while knocking over a case of windshield wiper fluid.

"Doesn't look like the car's too happy about us leaving either," I whispered to Sam as his dad moved over to Bolivia.

"That makes three," he muttered in agreement, arms crossed.

"You alright?" The owner waved him off, pulling himself back out in front of the Beetle.

"I'll get a sledgehammer and knock this right out. Hey, hey, Manny! Get your clown cousin and get some hammers and come bang this stuff out, baby!" As he laughed, continuing to the middle of the car lot, I looked back into the car. The two radio dials had begun twisting, with the arrow searching through different stations.

"Um, Sam...?" I couldn't make out what the speakers said, but the moment the few beeps I heard picked up speed, I slammed my hands over my ears and ducked to the ground. "Get down!" Bumblebee had found the frequency, alright. The noise blasted from the speakers in a shock wave, sending each windshield and side mirror in the lot to shatter in an explosion of glass. As fast as it had started, the sound died out, with the only remaining noise being the chirping from a nearby Jetta. Still, that died out in a few seconds, leaving the entire area quiet. _Well, that car's certainly dead._

"You okay?" Sam helped me back up, confused and a little on edge. "What just happened?" We turned back to Bolivia who had also just gotten back to his feet, shards scattered all around him from his merchandise. He spun around slowly, taking in each car and its shattered state. Finally, he whirled around to face us, and held up a shaking hand as he backed away slowly.

"Four thousand!" I grinned, not bothering to hide back the glee and amazement at what the car just pulled off, and gently patted the hood as Bolivia sprinted back to the office. _Either for the papers, or for fear of his life._ His workers and family all stared at what used to be the dealership, just as baffled as the two Witwickys beside me.

Sam and Ron took a moment to follow, still trying to figure out what had happened, while I paused for a second to look back. Over my shoulder, I nodded at the Camaro, sitting there innocently in perfect condition among the wreckage it caused. "Oh, I am so going to enjoy having you around."

(Time Skip)

"You're really sure you're fine doing this without help?" I adjusted the bucket of cleaning supplies in my hands, and waved his worries off.

"I'm fine, Sam. I'm not sure it'll be perfect in time for your lake trip, but Bee should be ready to go." Filing the paperwork wasn't that much of a hassle since Bolivia was desperate to get rid of the car, but as we all drove back to the house, I could almost feel the eyes on my back. Not Sam's, no. No, I could feel Bumblebee's. _Where even is his face, anyway? That doesn't make any sense._ "Come down in half an hour."

"If you say so." Sam trekked back up the stairs, and I made my way towards the Camaro outside. Judy and Ron weren't outside working on the yard, which meant as of this moment, and it was just me and the car.

I dropped the bucket, and began pulling out several cloths, a can of window cleaner, and a bottle of soap. "I would wax, polish, and vacuum you too, but I don't have the time." _Why am I even speaking to him? He won't reply back._ "I hope you're fine with that, Bee."

"I'm alright. Nobody worry 'bout me." I cracked a grin at the song lyrics blasting out of the radio, and moved to the side of the house to fetch the hose.

"Interesting choice, picking the song that went with the gopher dancing in a smoldering golf course." I turned around, making sure the windows were up. _Thanks for that, Sam._ "This might be cold at first." I squeezed the handle, letting the slightly chilly water fire out and nail the Camaro broadside. A simple hose down, then I'd use some soapy water to get rid of the dirt spots that still stuck. "Gives me a job other than gardening, so I'll take it."

I moved to the empty bucket and grabbed the soap bottle. "Is it weird I'm talking to you?" I asked aloud, making sure I put a fair amount into the base before going back for the hose beside me. "It isn't like I don't talk to myself before. Seeing that I gave you a name and all, it means I also gave you a personality. Which, judging from the song choice and the little thing you pulled back at the dealership, I take it you got plenty."

Bee remained silent, giving no indication to what I was suggesting. "Well, I don't care if you answer me or not." Dunking the cloth into the soapy water, I wrung it out and began to use circular motions along the hood, watching the dust fade off and stain the blue rag. "Hmm... I wonder if Sam would mind me doing the job halfway?"

"I'm fine with it." I stopped, turning around and finding said teen sticking his head out of his bedroom window. He paused to look at the cloth, then at the supplies scattered on the rocks. "You sure you don't need any help?"

"If you're so eager, you can clean the windshield and windows. I'll finish scrubbing the front and back, and hose down the rest. I'll finish the sides for another time." There wouldn't be another time. I had zero knowledge of what would happen to me, or anyone else once things returned to norm... a partial normal.

It terrified me. I had trouble sleeping with how much I didn't know about the world I ended up in, and what awaited me in a few days, and what would happen during after those few days. Sector Seven, and the Decepticons; all of it terrified me. _How did Sam even handle all of it? Over, what was it, five years?_ He had panicked a lot over his time with the aliens, but otherwise managed to keep it together. Would I be able to do that? "Okay. I got out here before my parents could start their work on the garden and refitting the path." I snapped out of my daze, and Sam moved up alongside me with the roll of paper towel and the window cleaner. "We should take it through a car wash tomorrow, you know? That would do the trick."

"Definitely." I continued along the front as Sam began to clean the windows on the left side. The sound of static filled the vehicle, and we looked up as a song started to play. "Is that...?" _Curse my knowledge of retro songs. Sam, help me out here._

"I think that's the song that plays during the dance montage in Breakfast Club," Sam said, taking a moment to think it over. "I guess the radio's busted. That'll just be another thing on the list of stuff to get dealt with."

"Really?" I stood up, wiping my tanned hands off on my pants and proceeding to the rear. "I guess Bee likes the classics." Actually, didn't Bumblebee watch that movie in the prequel film, as the girl worked on the other car in the garage? _Coincidence, or did some of that happen?_ It was confusing, since there were some errors in continuity between the film series and the latest movie, but I guess I'd get answers to it soon. "How's it going on your end?"

"I'll clean the other side and we'll do the front window later. We don't have a scrubber to do it properly." I wiped the dirt off of the license plate, examining the dark blue letters. "Are you done? Blake?"

"I've seen a lot of strange things on a plate, and usually, it means something. Have any ideas?" Sam walked around to the back, and joined me in staring at the four characters. "B-127, huh?"

"Maybe it's some sort of code," he mused. "Does it matter?" He handed me a wad of paper towels, a smaller roll, and the cleaner. "I need to go pick up Miles. Can you store this in the garage for me?" I turned around as Sam moved past, and began to wind up the hose and attach it back on the wheel. Grabbing the bucket by my feet, he dumped the contents into the grass and I dropped my gear into it.

"Sure." I hurried over to the smaller building, which was a contrast to the tidy house behind me. I opened the door a crack, put the bucket inside, closed it, and moved back over. "Can I come?" Sam by now was already inside the Camaro, buckled in and ready to go. The windows were rolled down again, and I leaned on the roof as I peered inside.

"You want to come to a high school party." _Okay, when you say it like that, I understand why it's weird._ I hadn't been in high school in four years. Sure, I still looked like I could be his age, but I did my time.

"You're taking your brand new car out for a spin, and I have zero clue about Tranquility's layout. I'm not going to make you look bad. I'll keep my distance." Sam didn't seem too convinced, until the sound of the radio drew our attention to the car itself.

"Riding in the back, oozing down the street. Waving to the girls, feeling out of sight. Spending all my money on a Saturday night." The look on Sam's face made me burst into laughter as I circled around and got into the passenger seat.

"Well, I am fairly certain if the car knew what those lyrics meant, it would not be singing them." I playfully pushed Sam's arm, and grabbed the seat belt.

"That radio's going to be like this entire time, isn't it? Okay, fine, you can come. But just-I have an image, alright? I got to keep that up." _Image? Really?_ I rolled my eyes, clicking the buckle into place with an almost inaudible snap.

"I won't damage your 'reputation', whatever that is," I smirked. "Time to head out on the highway, Sam." To make things even better-or worse, in Sam's case-Bumblebee readjusted the radio, and cranked the volume to have Born to Be Wild fill the front seats.

"You two are going to drive me insane," he muttered, only making me laugh harder. "You and the car."

"Born to be wild! Born to be wild!"

* * *

 **From what I've seen and pieced together, the Bumblebee prequel is almost in an entire different universe than the Bay films. However, I have ideas on how to bring them together, and that should help out with some chapters later on down the road.**

 **That, and I had to go on a hunt for songs to help convey what Bee's saying. That's going to be fun when he can actually speak more often.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	3. We Are Not Alone

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I've been losing track of time. I hope this update makes up for that.**

 **Queenie176: Sector Seven deals with aliens, and appears to hack telephone lines. They know everything. I don't think there's a way Blake can hide, even if she didn't want to.**

 **grapejuice101: I'm glad you like it.**

 **Transformers is not mine.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

Miles was... I didn't want to say a generic character in a film you'd forget immediately. It was clear the moment we picked up the shaggy blond teen that he was close to Sam; probably deserving of the title of best friend. _Does Sam have any other friends outside of Miles?_ A little spacey, but overall an easygoing guy. We had pulled up alongside his house, a single floor dark blue building, and had him climb into the back. Of course, Sam had to get out for that to happen. Looking in, he paused in entering the vehicle when he found me over in the passenger seat. "Dude, I didn't know you already picked up a chick. She go to our school?"

"This 'someone' happens to be several years older than the both of you," I replied, as he began to slide into the back behind Sam's seat. "Blake; and I would appreciate it if you keep any potential perverted comments to yourself." Sam had a small amused smile at the greeting, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Okay, you two. Next stop's the lake." He shifted gears, and started off down the road again. I leaned closer to the window, almost having my head stick out and letting my own dirty blonde hair drift around in the wind. _Thank goodness for the pixie cut. Any longer, and the heat would be terrible._

The road began to go up a small incline before travelling along an embankment. The sound of loud voices met us, and Miles turned to Sam expectantly. "Dude, are you sure we're invited to this party?" The road curved around said lake, with houses on the side we were on, and a forest on the other. Cars were parked all over the place, from the actual lot to somewhat on the grass so that people having picnics didn't have to go very far. I could scarcely make out a few canoes out on the still water, but my view was mostly distracted by the teens throwing balls around higher up the hill where we were.

"Of course, Miles. It's a lake. Public property." Sam pulled over in the lot along the side, turning off the ignition before pausing. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god, dude, Mikaela's here. Just don't do anything weird, alright?" _I give him two minutes before something weird happens._ "I'm good, right?"

Miles followed out behind him, adjusting his open hoodie. "Yeah, you're good." The two teens started off towards the party, before Sam stopped to look back.

"I said I wanted to get out, Sam. I never said I wanted to actually join you at the party. Go on ahead. I'll hold down the fort." Sam reached into his pocket, and tossed me the key back at me through the window. "I won't ditch you."

"You don't have a license, so I didn't expect you to try." I grinned at the snappy comeback, before returning my focus to the car itself. I caught a brief glimpse of Miles jump up at start hanging from a branch just above Sam's head by the time he walked over by Mikaela, seeing that I was the least of his worries. _Me hurt his status? I think Miles is doing that for him._

"So... it's just you and me, Bee. Probably not for long, depending on what Miles does." The radio continued to play the station Sam had set it to after regaining control from the Camaro a few minutes into the drive, showing no sign of a proper answer. So far, I had yet to hear any relatively current music from the Transformer. Everything had been bouncing around the decade of the 80s. _I wonder if I can get an answer out of him again like earlier._ "Do you have any ideas on what we should talk about? Seeing that you are a fan of older music, do you have a favorite genre?"

A flurry of sounds suddenly filled the vehicle, and while it was all in a loud, scrambled jumble, I could make out mostly rock music. "O-okay then. Guess I should've expected that." I chuckled, reaching forward to place a hand on the dashboard. "What else can we talk-Miles, what are you doing?"

I frowned, turning my attention to the driver's window as he crawled through it. "Is there a problem?" _I just... I'm not even going to bother with this._ "Having fun in here?"

"A blast. Shame you two weren't having fun out there." Sam was a few steps behind him, pausing at the door to look back. Adjusting myself in my seat, I could make out Mikeala walking off along the side of the road back the way we came, bag slung over her shoulder. The radio began adjusting itself again, The Cars' Drive began to play for the three of us. Miles looked at it in confusion, before turning to my amused face.

"Hey, what's wrong with the radio?" Sam, in a daze, still stared at her vanishing form, and repeated the words Bee was playing to himself.

"I'm gonna drive her home tonight..." he mumbled, barely loud enough for us to hear him over the speakers.

"What? She's an evil jock concubine, man. Let her hitchhike," Miles said, leaning ahead so his head was up by mine.

Sam didn't bat an eye at the insult. "She lives ten miles from here, okay? It's my only chance. You got be understanding here, alright?" Miles shrugged, the two of us seeing that he wasn't going to be able to sway his friend's mind.

"Alright. I'll move over to the passenger seat, and she can go in the back with Blake then. I'll be quiet." _Since when am I being moved? I was here first._ Miles didn't see my unimpressed look, but Sam zoomed in on the words like a hawk.

"Did you say, 'go in the back'? Miles, I'm not putting her in the back. You got to get out of my car." Sam opened the driver's door, taking him by surprise.

"That's a party foul," Miles retorted. _Might want to hurry it up here, guys._ Mikaela was almost out of my line of sight. Though it was hard to make out how she was feeling from her facial expression, it was clear her shoulders were slumped. Tired, annoyed-it could have been a variety of things.

Sam, sensing that he was running on a limited amount of time, hurried with his reply. "What rules?"

"Our-bros before hoes!" I reached over, lightly smacking Miles on the back of his head. He spun around to look at me, not fazed by my annoyed glare. "Hey!"

"Miles, I'm begging you to get out of my car. Okay? The only reason Blake's still sticking around is because my parents would ground me for ditching her."

"And you, on the other hand, can figure out how to get back to where you live. I can't." Miles clearly was close to Sam, and I did feel bad about ditching him at the lake. _He has a phone, right? He should be fine._ "Besides, Sam needs all the smooth skills he has in order to pull this off."

Miles sighed, and began to make his way out of the car as Sam opened the door for him. "Fine, but this is a one time thing, Sam. Give me a call tomorrow if you score or not." I slipped into the back, just as Miles had suggested, and sat behind the passenger seat.

"Thanks, Miles. See you tomorrow." Sam hurried into the car, scrambling to get himself ready before taking off. Bits of rocks kicked up in a dust cloud as we left Miles behind, driving after Mikaela who was a fair distance down the road already. _With the mess of events that are about to happen, I hope nothing breaks up their friendship._ "Blake, you got to let me handle this."

"Relax, Sam. I'll be quiet."Nodding, he leaned towards the passenger window, trying to get a good view of the other teen as we approached her.

"Mikaela! It's Sam." He decreased the speed, coming to a crawl beside her as she continued walking, not giving any sign that she heard him. All the while, Bee kept playing the same song through the speakers. "Witwicky? I hope I didn't get you stranded or anything. You sure? So, listen, I was wondering if I could ride you home." Sam's eyes widened at his mistake, mentally kicking himself. "I mean-give you a ride home in my car, to your house."

Mikaela finally came to a stop. From my angle, it was hard to see her facial expression to his words. The door popped open, and she stepped inside. Sliding her bag off her shoulder, she settled it down at her feet after closing the door behind her. "There you go," Sam coughed. Picking up the speed, the Camaro continued off down the road with its newest passenger in tow. "So... uh..."

"I can't believe that I'm here right now," the brunette mumbled, looking out the window. Sam's face drooped a little at the choice in words, adjusting his grip on the wheel.

"You can duck down if you want. I mean, it won't hurt my feelings." He checked over his shoulder for any cars following, backing up his statement.

Mkaela shook her head, a little surprised at the suggestion. "Oh, no, no, no. I didn't mean-I didn't mean here with you. I just meant here like, in this situation. This same situation that I'm always in. 'cause, I don't know, I guess I just have a weakness for hot guys, for-for tight abs and really big arms."

"Big arms?" Checking ahead so that he could turn in her direction without hitting anything, Sam brought his arm up, awkwardly bending it to point at the light in the middle of the car and at the disco ball still hanging on the mirror. _And here I thought you wanted to take them down, Sam._ He caught sight of me in the reflection, arms crossed and leaning against the seat. "Well, uh, there's a couple new additions in the car. Like, I just put in that light there. And that disco ball. And so the light reflects off the disco ball.

"Oh." A minute of silence drifted by, and I waited for one of them to speak again. "Are you... are you new to school? This year? This your first year?"

"Oh, no. No. We've been in the same school since first grade," Sam explained.

"Really?" She asked, turning around to face him with genuine interest.

"Yeah, a long time," he replied with a smile. It wasn't a pleased one, however. Mikaela must have seen it too. Sam looked like a sad puppy, shifting his eyes a little at how much the conversation wasn't turning in his favor.

Giving an embarrassed frown, Mikaela was quick to try and redeem herself. "Well, do-do we have any classes together?"

"Oh. Yeah, yeah. History. Language arts. Math Science," Sam listed off, hearing the silent question about which ones. The darker brunette looked disappointed she hadn't recognized him, hearing at how often the two were together at school, but brightened up after a moment.

"Sam." His smiled lit up. "Sam Wilkicky." _Smile gone._ Sam slumped in his seat, visibly deflating.

"Wit-wicky," he stressed the two parts, disappointment dripping into the reply.

Mikaela ran her fingers through her hair, looking away awkwardly. "God, you know what? I'm so sorry. I just-"

"No, it's cool," Sam assured her. It wasn't, though. Having the girl you liked not even remember your name despite being in the same class for so long hurt, and it showed plain as day on him.

She noticed it too. "I just didn't recognize you." _How? Besides the presentation I helped him with, there must have been other class presentations where he had to get up in front of the class._

"Yeah, well, I mean, that's understandable." _Okay, I think that's enough._ I leaned further into the seat, slinking down just out of view from the mirror and in case the two turned around, and looked at the floor. He could hear me, despite the fact I had zero idea where his face was, and... if his species even had ears to begin with. _They can hear, so I guess they have something similar._

"Bee, can you try something?" An almost inaudible whirl was my answer, and the car jerked as he took control from Sam.

"Ah, no, no, no, no. No. Come on." The two looked at the radio, seeing the dials spin as it settled onto a new station. "Sorry, I'm just working out the kinks. You know, it's a new car," Sam explained, looking from the steering wheel to her.

"When I get that feeling, I want sexual healing-" I moved a hand over my mouth, hiding the building laughter from the teens up front. The car rolled along, and from my slouched position, could make out a sunset over a large series of hills. A single tree blocked out the light from our vision, lighting up the dust around our tires. "Sexual healing. Sex-u-al."

"Oh. This radio is like, you know-it's an old radio, too, so-look, this isn't something that I, you know-I can't get this radio to stop." Running a hand through his hair in exasperation, he turned to fully look at Mikaela. "Look, I wouldn't try this on you. You know. 'cause this is like a romantic, romantic thing that I'm not trying to do."

"Uh-huh." Mikaela reached into her purse and pulled out an elastic. Reaching up to her hair, she began to pull some of the dark brown locks into a bun, all while listening to Sam's embarrassed rambling.

"Not that you're not worthy of trying something like this on." The radio switched again to another song, and while I was relived at the change in tension from before, this was just as bad if not worse.

"Okay, I'm done being quiet." Straightening up, I reached forward and tapped Sam on the shoulder. The two turned to me, Mikaela appearing shocked that she hadn't even noticed there was someone else in the car with them, and Sam in defeat. _Sorry, Sam, but this s getting painful to watch._ "Sam, pop the hood before you say anything else."

"Who are you?" I undid my belt letting myself move to the middle of the worn leather seats.

"Blake Wile. I'm a tenant of Sam's." Sam mouthed the word back at me, while Mikaela didn't seem to be bothered by the answer. Unlocking her door, she climbed out and made her way to the front. I hurried to follow after, feeling the car shake a little as Sam stomped down on the floor angrily. "Sam, don't take your anger out on Bee."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't if this didn't happen." Pressing a button to unlock the hood of the Camaro, he got out and joined us at the front. The air had gotten cooler as the sun set behind us, but still managed to maintain its warmth. Putting both hands on either side, Mikaela lifted up the yellow and black striped hatch. "Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa. This is some impressive gear you got, Sam." I did mechanical work, but I wasn't entirely able to memorize every part of an engine. I mostly dealt with the parts underneath. Wheels, headlights, and a lot of parts under the car itself. What I did know, from just giving the engine a once-over, was that it was comprised of parts that you would not find in a normal car.

"Nice headers. You've got a high-rise double-pump carburetor. That's pretty impressive, Sam." Sam, off to the right of us, looked from the interior to her in confusion.

"Double-pump?" He repeated in confusion.

"It means that your car can go faster," I explained. "It's good for race cars, and seeing that this is a Camaro, that shouldn't be too surprising." No signs of any wear or damage, and it was shiny to boot; as if it was came straight out of the factory, and had never once been used.

"And it looks like your, ah, your distributor cap's a little... loose." She reached in, holding the hood with one hand and adjusting the cap in question. "That should do it." She positioned herself carefully, not leaning in enough to accidentally burn herself. Tapping it to make sure it wasn't still loose, she retracted her arm.

"Yeah? How did you know that?" Mikaela straightened up, wiping her hand on her jean shorts before lowering the hood.

"Uh, my dad. He was a real grease monkey. He taught me all about this. I could take it all apart, clean it, put it back together," she explained. A hint of pride was clear in the words, showing that she was proud of what she was capable of. Sam nodded, moving closer to us instead of off to the side.

"That's weird. I just wouldn't peg you for mechanical," he pointed out. I could understand why. If I didn't know anything, I probably wouldn't have imagined it either.

"Well, you know, I don't really broadcast it. Guys don't like it when you know more about cars than they do. Especially not Trent," she added with a small smile. "He hates it." _Okay, now that one I can understand._

"Yeah, no, I'm cool with, uh, you know, females working on my engine. I prefer it, actually." Sam blinked, slowly realizing what he just said. "I, uh..."

Mikaela gave a small laugh, letting it slide. "Okay. You want to fire it up for me?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, no problem." Moving back to the driver's seat, he slid his arm inside and began feeling around for the key, keeping his eyes on her. "You know, I was thinking," he started, finally turning the ignition. "You know, if Trent's such a jerk, why do you hang out with him?" The car sputtered at the starts, not kicking in.

Mikaela exhaled, shoulders sagging slightly. "You know what? I'm just, uh, I'm gonna walk. Ah... Good luck with your car." Moving past me, she reached inside and grabbed her bag off the floor. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she started off down the dirt road. "It was nice meeting you, Blake."

"Alright Walking's healthy, right?" Just as she was halfway down the small hill, still a fair distance off from the road Bumblebee ditched, Sam threw himself back into the driver's seat. Looking from him to Mikaela, I opened the passenger door and climbed to the backseat once again. "Oh, god, no no no no no no no no no no. Come on, please. Please, you gotta work for me now. Don't let her walk away. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. Please, please," he pleaded, twisting the key several times. Finally, either his attempts at getting Bee to drive or the Autobot decided his attempts at acting as a wingman were over, the Camaro roared back to life. Baby Come Back blasted through the speakers, singing out the chorus for its intended target. "Whoo. Hey!" Shouting out the window as he slammed his door shut, he spun the car around in the dirt and hurried after her. "Hey! Wait a second!"

"I was wrong, and I just can't live without you!" Mikaela, once we got close enough, caught a good view of Sam's desperate and pleading look. _Come on, Mikaela, get in the car._ Shaking her head with a smile that was either from amusement or pity, she popped open the door and got back in.

(Time Skip)

The streets were dark, lacking any streetlights. Bee, ever the DJ, was softly playing Linkin Park in the background. The two teens sat in a comfortable silence as we slowed down near our destination, while I was fighting to stay awake in the back. "There it is," Sam announced, pulling off to the side of the road. A slightly banged up garage sat beside a trailer, no doubt housing whatever vehicles they owned.

"I had fun," Mikaela admitted, undoing her buckle. "Um. So, you know, thanks for listening."

Sam smiled back, happy. "Oh, yeah, yeah."

The lightened mood dropped a little, as she averted her eyes. "You- you think I'm shallow, huh?"

"I think you're... No. No, no, no," he rushed. "I think there's a lot... more than meets the eye... with you." In all honesty, had I not been close to passing out and right next to Mikaela, I would have laughed at that. Sam was quite on the nail with that, and he had no idea. Still, the humor I found was that he quoted one of the taglines to the Transformers franchise.

Mikaela pondered it over, before giving another smile and nod. She had no clue what it meant, same as him. "Okay," she chuckled. "Alright, I'll see you at school."

"Alright." With a final grin, she grabbed her gear and stepped out of the car. As she walked up the steps to the trailer's door, Sam muttered under his breath just quietly enough that she wouldn't hear. "That's stupid... that was a stupid line. There's more than meets the eye with you. Stupid." He looked back to Mikaela, who was on a deck behind a faded white fence. The metal screen door was open, and she waved back with her hand clutching her purse. Spinning around, she headed inside, letting the door close behind her. "Oh god." Chuckling, Sam turned to look down at the steering wheel. "Oh my god. I love my car."

"Yeah, well, you can rave over it tomorrow." I undid my belt, crawling to the front and sitting in the passenger seat. "Food is a thing that I am lacking right now."

Sam rolled his eyes, and began to head off down the road. "We can go through a fast food place, if you want. I doubt my mom will have supper still out."

"No, we can head home. Honestly, Sam, you've had a long week. You need the sleep." _You really, really will need the sleep._ I didn't think he would be getting any, once things picked up speed. Where he would be finding that energy, I had no clue. "By the way, what do you think about our quirky radio? You said earlier about fixing it."

"Hmm?" The pale glow of the streetlights illuminated the dark pavement, and cast shadows around us. All of the curtains' were drawn, signalling everyone was getting ready to wrap it up for the night. Bee was playing another song, which due to the low volume, I couldn't tell from the lyrics what it was. Still, with how good he was at communicating through it, it no doubt was fitting to the current moment. "I did, didn't I? Huh. Well... I would've liked it if it didn't act out during the drive." Sam shrugged, giving a small laugh. "But hey, if the car can score me points with Mikaela, I'm not changing anything."

"Well, it's nice to see your priorities are... somewhat in order," I replied, hesitating at the end. "Let's get back to the house then."

Sam continued along the road, driving in almost complete silence. Had it been for the fact I knew that the car was alive, I really would've thought everything was normal. That nothing strange was happening, and that I was still in my hometown. But it wasn't. It wasn't normal. I was there, with Sam, possibly twelve or so hours away from...

 _What am I gonna do then?_ The car rumbled to a stop, and Sam was quick to hop out. Leaving the door open, I hurried after him before he closed and locked it. "There you two are!" Turning around to the back deck, we saw Mrs. Witwicky poking her head out of the sliding door. "Where were you? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sorry we were late. Sam was helping a friend from school home, since her ride ditched her at the lake." Sam's shoulders slumped, visibly relieved I had come up with an excuse for us. "We got carried away in a conversation and lost track of time."

Judy's eyes darted to her son, and he nodded. "Yeah, her house was out in the trailer park across town," he added hastily.

"Oh, my son's growing up to be such a gentleman." She opened the door the rest of the way, and we moved along the stone path and headed inside. Kicking our shoes off on the mat by the door. She headed to the stairs. "I already put supper away. Goodnight, Sammy."

"Night, mom." Once she was gone, he quickly shot me a look. "Really, do not call me Sammy."

"I won't. Okay, that was a one-time thing. Besides, your mother does it so much better." Rolling his eyes, he trudged towards the kitchen. "Getting something?"

"Probably just a sandwich. Want something?" Reaching into the fridge, he pulled out a plastic container and a jar of mayo.

"I'll have the same. Let me get the rest." Moving to the breadbox and bringing out the loaf, I almost laughed at how absurdly normal all of this was. Tomorrow, if my sense of timing was correct, everything would pick up speed. I had never given it much thought before, how the entire plot happened in just a few days. When one jumped around to different characters, and had time skips, all sense of a continuous flow seemed... broken. But in just one day, Sam had gotten Bee, we cleaned up the Camaro's exterior, and partially won over Mikaela Banes.

"Here you go." Sam slid the jar and container of sandwich meats over to me, already holding his supper. "Night, Blake."

"Goodnight, Sam." I slid the knife out of the mayo, letting my thoughts try and wrap around it all. _I have a basic timeline of what's to happen, but other than that... heh. I don't know what scares me more. The fact I'm about to be thrown into a civil war with a giant race of mechanical aliens, or the fact that the government will be after me at any time._ Ah, yes. Sector Seven... "eugh."

Putting the food away, I trudged up the steps and made my way to the guest room. Sitting down on the mattress, I quietly ate the sandwich. _One last thing... what was it?_ Moving off the bed, I headed over to the window and slid it open. Unlike Sam, who got a good view of the backyard, I was able to see the driveway. Sticking my head out, I waved down at the Autobot far below me. "Goodnight, Bee."

Ducking back in, I left the window open a crack before dropping down on the bed. "Way too tired to change." The soft ticking of the clock echoed around the room, drawing me further into an exhaustive state. Head buried into the pillow, I rolled over and faced the wall. "Well..." I yawned. "At least... we'll get some sleep before it... all..."

"DAD, CALL THE COPS!"

* * *

 **Just saying this now, but besides the prologue, the minimum chapter length will be 3000 words. Not that it was difficult to write this up, but I've been so busy with school and approaching midterms, all writing had to take a backseat. I doubt I'll get another chapter up this month, but I can assure that the next chapter will make up for the potential wait.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	4. Grand Theft Autobot

**Disclaimer: Have to say, it was hard to figure out a way to end this chapter. Whether or not to have the battle all depended on what happened prior, but I think I figured it out.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

"So, he's really in jail?" Judy nodded, putting the jug of milk back into the fridge. It was to be expected, really. Sam's frantic shouting awoke his parents, and by the time they got out of their room and went downstairs, Sam was already a fair distance down the road on his bike. Which direction, Ron didn't know. He headed to the house phone, called in, and alerted the police of what happened. The next couple of hours following, to Sam's disappointment, consisted of him being stuck in the local jail while his dad had to wait until morning to go get him.

 _They seriously thought he was the one who stole it?_ "Will this be on his record?" The older woman sat down on the stool on the other side of the kitchen island, and stirred her cereal around slowly. She was stressed, and it showed. I could only imagine what was going through her head at the moment.

"I don't think so, Blake. It is his car, after all." Her grip on the spoon was more noticeable, and her words were forced. Sitting my own utensil down, having finished my breakfast, I reached over and rested my hand on the one resting on the counter.

"He'll be fine, Mrs. Witwicky. I'm sure whoever took the Camaro didn't mean for him to get into trouble." _Speaking of the car... where did he go?_ Bee hadn't returned, having to keep up the appearance that he was taken. Or was it to continue the alert that he had found Sam, and that the other Bots could come to Earth now? "How much longer do you think they'll be?"

She hummed over the question, and I sat back down in my seat, retracting my hand. "I'm not sure, but you are more than welcome to go to town and check in on them. Do you know how to get there?"

"Somewhat." Hopping off the stool, I picked up my dishes and moved to the sink, resting them inside. "It's not perfect, but I should be able to get there in one piece. I'll be back after lunch. If not, around supper."

She hesitated, but sighed, relenting to my plan. "Alright. But wear a jacket if you're expecting to be late! It gets cold at night!" Heeding the suggestion, I hurried back upstairs and into Sam's room. I _really need to get him to clean._ Scooping up an oversized black hoodie laying at the foot of the bed, with sleeves that would no doubt go over my hands, I slung it over my shoulder and retreated to the entryway.

 _Might as well wear this, since I have no way of carrying it around._ I threw the hoodie on, leaving it unzippered, and threw on the shoes from yesterday before finally reaching for the doorknob. However, I paused just as my fingertips grazed over the metal. _Whether or not it's a mad rush, I'm going to be thrown into this mess with Sam._ "I... I can do this." With that as my final decision, I stepped out into the warm Nevada sun, letting the door close behind me. "Next stop, either Sam or Bee."

Trees bristled in an almost invisible breeze, but still enough to keep the heat from being unbearable. Not many cars drove were out on the roads, leaving most of the noise in the subdivision to come from two boys across the street playing with a basketball hoop, and three young children on my side playing with water guns in a backyard. Squealing laughter brought a smile to my face, before it shifted back to the previously neutral one. _I need to find him, preferably before he does._ Find Bee, before the Decepticon makes his appearance. "And how hard is that gonna be? It's like a needle in a haystack."

My shoe met a small rock on the sidewalk, and I kicked it off into a ditch. _And how am I supposed to handle that? Giant robot fight-I'm like an insect compared to them. How am I going to keep all two-three-of us in one piece?_ Three, being the addition of Mikaela. The more I thought over it, the more the nervousness and stressed feeling grew. Twisting, and snaking around me, draining out what attempts at a reasonable idea I was trying to find. _And how am I supposed to find Bumblebee in this entire town any-?_

"Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good!" The sudden loud music made me trip over myself, stumbling a few steps before I hurried to regain my balance. Straightening up, I looked ahead to find the yellow and black sports car, windows down just enough for the lyrics to come out, parked across the street by a series of postboxes. "I've been inclined, to believe they never would, but now I...!"

"... guess he beat me to it." _Finding him, I mean._ Looking left and right, I dashed across the road and over to the Camaro. My speed decreased as I approached the driver's door, hand held out to grab the latch, only to reel back a moment. "... if I open this, am I going to be scared by what I find?" Was there a reason, for actually tracking me down? Was this because since I was close to Sam, that made me a target in his eyes... optics? Or was it because I was more likely to have a calm reaction, compared to Sam? I would freak out, but unlike him, I doubted I'd have a mental breakdown. _Which... has already happened, unfortunately._

An odd whirl escaped the car, and I had no idea if that meant yes or no. _I guess I don't have much of a choice here, do I? Even if I avoid going after Sam, and not join him and Mikaela, Sector Seven will meet up with me at some point._ With that haunting thought, I would rather put my trust with the Autobots then being a stationary target back at the house. They at least have the chance to keep me safe for a while. "Okay then. I'm trusting you here." Grabbing the handle, hearing the soft click of a lock undoing itself, I pulled the door open towards me.

The inside was empty, just like I had expected it to be. The radio was still on, albeit with the volume turned down. "Heh... had a feeling you were special, Bee." The song from earlier continued to play, now onto its second verse. Fingers sliding off the handle, I climbed into the car and grabbed for the seat belt. The door closed by itself, and the Camaro pulled away from its parking spot. "So, is this a kidnapping? Am I going to get answers, or am I going to have to guess here?"

"I'm a shooting star, leaping trough the sky... burnin' through the sky... enemy target closing in... precious cargo." _Wow. Queen and other random dialogue gives a pretty decent explanation._ Pulling the seat belt across me and buckling in, I leaned back against the headrest.

"I had a hunch about aliens, since you managed to destroy all those cars with ease. Then again, there's been movies and other stuff about sentient cars just being sentient cars. So, you know, I had some options to choose from." When I saw we were approaching the town, I wrapped my hands around the steering wheel. How Bumblebee was able to pull off the illusion without a human was lost to me, but better safe than sorry. "Are you being hunted, or is it the cargo you mentioned?"

"Both," he replied. "Visitors from heaven... not... friendlies... end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!"

"Got it, got it." Holding the wheel with one hand, I used the other to rake through my hair. This was just... wow. J-just wow. _And I haven't even seen his other form yet._ "You do know that because of whatever stunt you pulled last night, that Sam is currently unavailable. He's being held at the town's jail." It was one thing to know the truth, but an entirely different thing to hear it all from the Bot himself. Regardless of only being limited to a radio, there was a weight behind the broken words, and it was... kind of overwhelming.

A pitiful whirl broke through the music, and the entire car seemed to sink a little on its axles. "H-hey, it's not your fault, Bee. You didn't know he was following you." Awkwardly, I patted the dashboard before returning my hand back to the wheel. "We can try and find him though, and explain... okay, so do you have any ideas how to explain to him that the car he bought is alive and from outer space? Because I have nothing."

There was no immediate reply, leaving me to guess he was trying to figure that out himself. "Well, you'll figure it out." The sports car continued through an intersection, turning to the right by itself. _He, not it. Remember, you're speaking directly to Bee now._ As of that moment, the car and Bee were now one. It didn't make sense to consider them separate. "Where are we going?"

Bumblebee continued along, leaving me the confused passenger that I was. The sun shone through the windshield as the unspecified time ticked by, leading me to guess it was sometime past noon now. We had turned onto a back road, tall trees passing by as the amount of houses and businesses vanished behind us. No people, and from the slightly opened windows, the only sound that could be heard besides the engine was the chirping of birds, hidden around us just out of sight. The trees spread apart farther ahead, and he began to slow down, branches slightly scraping at the paint outside, before coming to a halt. It wasn't a large clearing he found, but it was secluded, and we were far enough out that no one would see the random car in the middle of nowhere. The tires crunched on top of the damp leaves and needles that scattered the ground in a badly made carpet, the area barren with soft mud or fully covered in shades of brown and green. Glancing to the radio, and not hearing anything, I popped open the door and climbed out. The sun hid and peeked out from the needle branches far above my head, and the ground sank a little under my feet. It was cooler out there where we were; a much needed change from when I was slowly changing into a baked potato.

"So, why exactly did we come all the way out here f.. for...?" The mechanical whirl echoed around the trees, and I jumped a little in surprise as the Camaro gave a shudder. Pieces began to rearrange themselves, slowly beginning to shift as the outer yellow layer began to crack open to reveal the inner metal form, and my legs found themselves moving backwards, putting distance between myself and the ever-growing alien. Clicks and snaps as parts locked into place, and I felt my back run against a tree, marking how much distance I put between myself and the alien. The front fenders moved to the shoulders, and the cars' doors slid to the back like an insect's wings. They twitched up and down, making sure they were in place, and the Autobot, now standing in his proper form, turned to look back at his much smaller audience.

"Wh... wh...?" _Yep, there goes all of my words. Can't form a proper sentence now._ Bumblebee looked down, studying my reaction warily as he kept his distance. The antenna atop his head moved downwards, and bright blue lights darted to the side before returning to me."I, uh... h-hi?" The finally logical response must have been all he needed as Bee crouched down, trying to make himself appear smaller to me. One hand was on a knee, and with the other, gave a small wave. "Hehe." Repeating the motion, I shuffled away from the bark and inched towards him. "S-sorry, I'm just... I-I'm a little stunned right now."

The movement of parts was still heard, each time Bee moved. Gears moving to represent new emotions on the human-like face. I didn't see any sign of a proper mouth, but what kept me in place was how brilliant and expressive the large blue lights that made up his optics. One part of me wanted to faint in shock and fear, the other part-the mechanic in me-was mystified. "M... may I?" Bee nodded, and I lifted a hand to his face. I expected cold metal, but what met my palm was anything but. It wasn't burning, like if I touched an engine. It was... as if it were the same temperature as a normal body. A living, breathing creature. "Incredible."

Bumblebee chirped, pressing his head further into my hand before finally backing up. Even hunched over, he was still several feet taller than me, making me have to look up at him. _Well, I'd be looking up at him no matter what._ "You're not... scared?" I shook my head, hearing the broken words float out of the radio in his torso.

"A little, but you... haven't given me any reason to run off yet." Which was true. A real life robotic alien, from a planet far beyond Earth and could easily squish me if he chose to. Bumblebee hadn't given any sign of a threat, so why would I run off? _Still... wow._ The word kept repeating itself, over and over, as it was the only simple phrase to describe the moment. The moment of... amazement, and wonder, seeing and communicating with him freely. "You can understand English, huh?"

He nodded again, and I watched the tiny gears in his optics shift, altering the size of what might have been his pupils. Darker around the edges, and brightening up to a pale blue-white light. Keeping his balance, he leaned away from my hand before raising his own and pointed at me. Glancing at the finger to him, it took a moment to realize what he was asking. "You... want to know my name?" Bee inched forward, giving a quick nod. "O-oh. I'm... Blake. Blake Wile." _Do I say something else? That seemed too short._ "22, and... currently living with Sam until I land back on my feet." I shuffled in place as the hand retracted, satisfied with my answer. "When I called you Bee, was I close?"

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" Giving a breathless laugh at the choice in audio, the dials spun before a series of violins sounded off in Flight of the Bumblebee. "Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree." _Seriously?_

"O-okay, okay. I get it," I laughed, hearing the music fade out as Bee gave his own version of amusement. "Just wanted to make sure I was right." Still in the happy mood, I looked up for a split moment to look at our surroundings, and noticed that the sun had already started moving downwards in the Nevada sky. _Afternoon, already?_ "Hey, Bee? We should probably go searching for Sam. In regards to what you said earlier, about an enemy, then it's a good idea to go find him before they do."

The yellow and black striped Bot brought himself back to his full height, and my legs worked backwards for a few steps. His head missed some of the branches, leaving me to only wonder how tall the other ones were. If Bee is, what, close to eighteen feet, then did that mean for the others? _Optimus must be a giant compared to Bee._ Unlike the transition earlier, the movement from Bot to Camaro was quicker and more fluid. Bouncing on his back axles as his front end landed loudly on the forest floor, the driver's door swung lazily open in front of me. "Thanks, Bee."

Retracing our route back to Tranquility was less stressful than heading out, but the weight of what we were concerned about, for Sam's safety, hung in the air. Bumblebee remained quiet, while I was sitting on the edge of the seat looking for Sam along the sidewalks. "You've been here longer than I have, right? If... something were to happen to him, where should we look?"

"Few... places." Bee took a turn to the left, approaching a very large construction zone. With its size, I had no idea what they were trying to build, but he was right in that it was a good place for a Decepticon to go after him. Why Sam would even be around there, I had no idea. Slowing down, Bee entered through an unlocked gate, pushing the metal across the dusty gravel. "Keep... low."

"Got it." As much as I could with a belt still wrapped around me, I slunk down in my seat. My head was bent awkwardly, chin pressing against my chest, but still letting me have a view of the outside. Several bridges stretched overhead, and the accompanying sound of traffic lead to the decision that this was a highway exit being built. _Too much noise means nobody would hear anything._ "See anyth-?" A loud echoing crash rattled through the air around us, and Bee's gas peddle slammed down as he sky rocketed towards the noise. The momentum slammed me into the seat, and I gripped the door's handle to pull myself back up. The steering wheel, without as much as a warning, turned slightly to the right before spinning to the left as far as it would go, creating a large spin-out and the sound of the front hood ramming into solid metal.

Two screams were heard through the massive dust cloud we created, and through my window, I saw the crumbled and stunned form of what I knew was the Decepticon pursuing Sam from the beginning. The passenger door flew open as Bee came to a stop, and Sam and Mikaela, both covered in dust, stared up at me. "Hurry!"

"Sam, what's going on!? What was that thing!?" Sam gripped her shoulders, shaking her out of her frazzled state. Letting go and almost shoving her, he grabbed her bag and tossed it into her lap.

"You have to get in the car. Get in." Hearing the sound of metal moving in the dust cloud, I glanced back to my other side.

 _He's getting back up!_ "Sam!" The teen's legs managed to get him to his feet, despite it being obvious he took a fall when he either first encountered the Decepticon, or when he ran into Mikaela. Either way, he grabbed the girl and brought her up as well, pushing her towards the car as her shoes slid under her in an attempt to regain her balance.

"Get in! Go, go, go, go, go!" The two were awkwardly piling on top of each other in the seat next to me, and Mikaela closed the door behind her once she got herself in. Sam was on the edge of the seat, more in the middle between her and me, while Mikaela was pressed against the door itself. Neither moved to the back, choosing to be closer to the door in case they had to bail out.

"Punch it, Bee!" Radio dial spinning wildly, the Camaro spun out of the dust cloud and onto one of the work roads around the construction site. Mikaela briefly looked at the speakers, confused and terrified. It didn't help for her that his choice in music was loud headbanging rock music, or that we could hear the clanging mechanical movement as the Con transformed and began to pursue us, blue and red lights flashing.

"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" She repeatedly screamed, gripping the door and Sam's arm tightly. His face scrunched up, feeling her nails digging into his skin, but somehow managed to keep his cool more than she was. Still, there was panic written there. Both of them. _Probably me, too, now that I think about it._ My heart was in my head, blood pounding furiously to match my own terror.

"No, we're not. No, we're not gonna die. Trust me. Blake, please tell me the car's on our side." It was a mystery that my own death grip on the steering wheel wasn't hurting Bee, but he must have sensed how frantic and terrified we were, as he picked up speed towards a construction zone in and around the frame of a building.

"We're gonna be fine, okay? We're gonna be-aahh!" The two teens screamed as we slammed through a glass window, shards flying past the windows as we braced ourselves. Lights flashing in the partially darkened space, the police car came flying out of the hole we made just as Bee swerved around the steal beams holding the roof up. Knocking down a shelf full of boxes and tools, he hurried with another sharp turn to exit out of the building.

"There it is!" Sam looked over Mikaela, seeing the Con succeed in his own maneuver. As the squealing and dust continued behind us, as the Decepticon tried to regain what speed he built up, Bumblebee sped out of the building and into another area. Backing up between two shelving units, he shut off his engine and turned off the headlights. A minute click from both sides of us drew our attention to the doors, and Mikaela poked at the lock, trying to pry it up.

"We're locked in," Sam sighed. "And the car won't start either." Breathing deeply to try and steady himself, he turned to me. "Did you know about this?"

"I only know what I was able to piece together from a conversation using a radio. Which isn't much, mind you, but enough." I hesitated, debating on whether or not to add on that, but the scared look on his face made my decision for me. Sam had no idea what was going on, with a twisted police car wanting to tear him to shreds. He needed some form of comfort that things were going to be fine, and that he would make it out in one piece. "The evil alien wants you for something, and Bee here wants to protect you." I patted the dashboard to emphasize my point, trying to demonstrate that, no, the car who's trapping us at the moment wasn't going to kill us. "He's trying to keep us safe, Sam."

"He," Sam mumbled, verifying to himself that his car was indeed a living creature, and waved to the radio in front of him. "He found you then."

"I was going to check on you and your dad after what happened last night. What happened to you two?" Mikaela, letting go of the door, shuffled herself around to face us. Her panic had gone down more than Sam's, seeing that her shoulders weren't shaking as much, but the scared and shocked frown was still present.

"I was driving home after having lunch with friends, and heard Sam screaming." She nudged Sam, and he took that as his cue to add in his part.

"I walked because dad said you went out to meet us. I figured I'd run into you along the way, and then that insane cop car started following. I ducked into the area back there to try and let him go by, but-you saw what happened when you showed up." Sam turned his attention to the radio, as we had no other way to know if we were speaking directly to Bee or not. "How long are we hiding for?" No reply, and he leaned back into what he could of the position he sat in with a shaky sigh. "Well, heh... at least we escaped the monster, right?"

"Sam..." the sound of an engine approaching had us all look up, and the police car drove slowly by in front of us. Red and blue lights blinked without a siren, as he looked around for us. Then, just as sudden as he appeared... he came to a stop. "You jinxed us."

"Crap." The key, still somehow in place, turned, letting the hum of the engine fill the small space. "Time to start." Spinning dirt under his wheels, Bumblebee took off like a rocket, passing the other as he moved to a clearing in the mess of equipment. Once he gained enough distance, the Camaro spun out in a large circle, doors opening up and sending Sam, Mikaela, and I sprawling out onto the ground in a cloud of dust. Spitting out the traces of mud that met my face as I hit the ground, the sound of shifting gears was all I needed to make me scramble backwards, putting as much space between myself and Bee as he began to transform. Sam and Mikaela were just a little behind me, staring as the yellow and black Autobot began to tower over all three of us, casting a shadow over our bodies. It was not as graceful and slow as when I had seen it earlier. This was swifter, faster, much more urgent. Bee turned around to look down at us, taking in our expressions of absolute terror, and amazement at what stood before us. A battle mask slid over his face instinctively, smudged with dirt and speckled with oil, and masking the blue optics that I had seen earlier that day. The glass over them had a hexagonal appearance, with the lower part over what he had as a mouth appearing like an insect's. Still, the two antennas stood out on the top of his head, and the Autobot insignia was displayed proudly on his forehead, stating who he fought for.

I understood enough to know what was about to happen, making my way up off the ground as Bee turned around and brought up two fists, adjusting his stance to a boxer's. The Decepticon sprang through a transformation much faster than Bumblebee's, landing on his feet and giving an enraged roar as he charged forward. "Really hope he's gonna keep that up," Sam whispered under his breath. _Keeping us safe, I'_ _m guessing_ _... yeah, me to_ _o, Sam._

* * *

 **I'm surprised I managed to get an actual chapter out of such a small part in the movie. The fight scene could've been added, but it didn't seem to fit the moment. Besides, that just gives me a lot to write in the next chapter.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	5. Meeting the Crew

****Disclaimer: Finally managed to find time for a new chapter. I've been taking a long break from here, but I wanted to try and get something posted.****

 ** **Klon: Well, you aren't wrong in how it doesn't make sense that they didn't alert the authorities. To be honest, the idea of them doing that did cross my mind. However, I ended up not having them do that because if they did alert someone, I would be going off in an entirely different story direction. The paramedics would look into her background, and when they find out she doesn't exist, the build-up the story leads to would already be upon us and put the focus away from the Bots. As for Sam asking for help, that was because he didn't want her being left alone after being unconscious for so long. It wasn't so much school related, as it was him being concerned for her health.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

There was no shortage of adrenaline at the moment. Sam, with longer legs that I highly wished for, took the lead in the three of us sprinting away from the brawl. The Decepticon barreled into Bumblebee, knocking him backwards and across the yard. Barely missing telephone towers, the impact of the mechanical bodies and wires closer to the ground created bursts of sparks, flashing in the air with snaps of electricity. Dust and rocks were kicked up, and I gave a grimace as a rather large stone pelted me in the back of my right leg, just below the knee. __Yep, that'll probably bruise.__

Mikaela threw her head back to look, and her pace quickened to keep up with mine, which was only just able to stay with Sam's. "Sam, don't stop!"

"Why on earth would I st-aah!" Two spindly yet razor sharp claws lashed out at Sam, snagging him by the back of his shirt and dragging him backwards. The whiplash sent his legs flying out from under him, hurling him to the ground. Mikaela continued to run past, hurrying towards the series of shelves away from the brawl to no doubt find something to defend herself, while I skid to a halt. The vicious, almost human-sized Transformer snarled at Sam, while the teen furiously kept trying to kick him off. __How'd I forget about that thing!?__ "Blake, help!"

"H-hold on!" __What am I supposed to do!? I can't disarm him!__ Darting my head around for anything remotely useful, I snatched a rock off the ground and threw it at the Con's head. The impact, not being expected, sent him flying off Sam with a shriek. "Come on!"

Sam scrambled upwards, following after me and away from the psychotic alien. Neck twisting around repeatedly as our attacker neared to check our distance, I didn't even notice Sam shoving me hard to the side as the Decepticon finally caught up to him, until I made rough contact with the ground. The Con sent them over an embankment several feet away from me, crashing into a fence circling the lot.

I was scared, and felt my heart pounding in my chest and in my ears. We were far enough away from the Bee's fight with the police car, but my entire being was on edge from an alien that didn't even reach my shoulders. Still, it didn't stop me from wanting to get as far away from the twisted minion as fast as possible. "Sam!" The small rocks dug into my palms, with a few leaving small and bloody cuts on them. Giving a small hiss at the dirt smearing over them, I jumped back up and hurried to the drop, just as Sam grabbed the Con and threw him off his back and over his head.

"It won't stop!" He shouted, as the alien sprung back to his feet, and lashed back out again. "Aah!"

"Witwicky! Witwicky!" Though it was barely legible, the fact Sam's last name was coming from him was enough to send a shiver up my spine. It was bordering on English, with the clicks and hisses that the Con had previously made. Nothing human, or organic about it in the slightest.

Movement drew my attention to my right, and Mikaela ran down the other side of the hill, carrying a giant electric saw in her arms. __Oh, finally!__ Raising it with the blade whirling, she brought it down against the Con's head. A short burst of sparks flew as the spinning arm ripped through the wires and thin pieces of metal that made up his neck. "Get it, get it, get it!" Sam pushed himself against the fence, letting the body drop to the ground as the buzzing blade finally went through. Panting, the two teens looked to each other before turning back to the Decepticon. "Huh? Not so tough without a head, are you?"

Without hesitation, Sam stepped forward and swung his leg, kicking the dismembered head up over the hill with a solid thunk. "Oh-waaaah!" Still shaking from the adrenaline, I gave a choked laugh, while Mikaela dropped the blade to the ground after turning it off.

"I-I just... I'm so terrified right now," I got out, seeing Sam turn to me. "My heart... feels like it's going to jump out of my chest."

"Y-yeah, I can relate... it's quiet," Sam whispered. It was. In our mad rush, we had forgotten about the other Con. Over the hill, we couldn't hear the ringing of any metal making impact, or alien roaring. "Come on." Taking the lead, Sam hurried up the incline, with the rest of us following right behind. He looked around, before making several steps back down to where we were. __Did he see something?__

"Hey, what's...?" The words faded from Mikaela while we stood halfway on the hill watching the winner of the fight walk over to us. Out of the thick cloud of dust, Bumblebee threw a look behind him at what was no doubt the unconscious, or possibly offline, Decepticon. Satisfied, he focused down on us, and our scared and stunned expressions. "What is it?"

"... he's an alien, isn't he?" Sam didn't turn, but the words were clearly directed at me. "Your explanation earlier... he... wants to protect us."

"Nothing on this planet could make something like him," I replied back, voice equally quiet. "Or do a better job at not getting you killed." __Please, don't let that jinx us.__ Shuffling a little further up the hill, I smiled weakly at the Bot. "D-did you stop him?" I asked, throat dry from screaming.

Bee nodded, and I heard the deep sigh of relief from Mikaela. "Well, that's good," Sam remarked. "You... stopping him." Giving a shaky inhale, he moved a step forward to join me. "So if you're here to protect me, then what was that last night? With the light show?"

Stretching up to his full height, the yellow mech pointed up towards the sky. "Message from Starfleet, Captain-throughout the inanimate vastness of space-angels will rain down like visitors from heaven-hallelujah!" Compared to the explanations he gave me before, the pieces of audio were effortlessly pieced together, floating through the speaker to answer Sam's question. Did that mean he expected a question like this, or was more comfortable speaking to us now that he didn't have to hide?

"Visitors from heaven?" Mikaela mumbled to herself, still behind our backs. "So, what, are you trying to contact someone then? Is it like a leader, or something?"

Applause rang out, and Bee clapped along with brightening optics. "I take it that's a yes. I mean, he did say captain, after all." Lowering himself to the ground, Mikaela's breathing sharpened almost inaudibly when the towering being collapsed, shifting into the old yellow and black Camaro we had seen only minutes earlier.

"Any more questions you want to ask?" Sam slowly began to move forward at the radio's inquiry, shuffling back a little as he neared the top in case the Autobot chose to break out of his vehicular form. Frankly, I had tons of questions. The mechanic part of me wanted to know how the transformation worked, but that in general seemed like a stupid thing to ask. Especially at this moment in time. The other part of me wanted to know the full background to... well, all of what we were about to get involved in. __But I'm sure we'll hear about that soon.__

"He wants us to get in the car." Throwing a look back at us, and how we hadn't moved from our spot, he gestured to the door. "Are you coming?"

"Go with an alien robot to who knows where?" Mikaela asked incredulously. "What makes you think I would do that?"

"Hate to say it, Sam, but I am curious as to why you're not as hesitant as us," I added. A low mechanical groan filled the air, and we turned to the still rising cloud of dust and smoke off to the side. __Decepticon will get up too, at some point.__ "Though, I rather am more inclined to take Bee over that one."

"Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?" Mikaela opened her mouth to retort, but closed it at Sam's words. If she got in the car with us, with Bumblebee, all normalcy would be gone. Just like me, in a way, but at least this world was hers.

While not voicing her decision, the brunette circled around the car and popped open the passenger door. "I'll get in the back again." Automatically, the driver's door opened, and the seat reclined forward. Mikaela, in the middle of holding her seat belt and reaching to the buckle, paused to stare. "Heh. Thanks, Bee." Hurrying up the hill, I climbed into the rear, hearing the seat return into position halfway through sitting down. Sam followed after, grabbing his belt as the door closed behind him. The engine revved, pulling us out of the lot and away from the semi-conscious Con.

"W-wait, hold on." Sam scrambled to click the metal piece in, and reached for the steering wheel as it turned by itself.

"But the car's driving," Mikaela pointed out. Leaning forward, I held onto Sam's headrest and pulled myself closer to them to get a better look.

"Yeah, but it's about the illusion. Don't really want people wondering why a car is driving itself." That, and the technology for it didn't exist yet. "There's not really that much we can do for now, except wait and see where we end up." With that, I leaned back into my seat, head slumped against the window and watching the orange street lights soar by. Judging from the shrinking amount of buildings and houses, I could only assume we had left Tranquility. We were on the edge of the town, and it made sense that calling the others should happen in a location with more space.

There was... something else though. We got rid of the little robot head... right? __I feel like... I'm missing something important here.__

I always liked to think I had a rather decent memory. I only ever forgot things if they were either unimportant, or were too far in the past. However, while I didn't see the film a lot, I had seen it enough to know the basics of what would go down. __That robot head is important. Something happened now that didn't happen in the movie which was... what was it, a phone falling out?__ It was just... fuzzy. Details were fuzzy, for some reason.

Electronic whirring briefly filled the cabin, until a soft pop rock song came through the speakers. Sam gave a weak laugh, hearing the lyrics. __Anything to try and ease our nerves, huh? I'll... try and figure this out later.__ "... this car's a pretty good driver." Sam glanced over at Mikaela, darkness enveloping us as we entered a large tunnel.

"Yeah, I know. A-are you comfortable? You look a little tense." She was. Her right hand was gripping the handle of the door, dirt covered nails digging into it.

"I'm fine," she replied curtly. "Are you?" That was a question I was wondering too. Sam exhaled deeply, and I saw his shoulders drop considerably. Fingers tapped along the wheel, and he turned back to her.

"I'm terrified. Aliens want my grandfather's glasses, which makes zero sense, and I've almost been killed twice today. Okay, I both really don't want to go with this whole thing, but does it look like I really have a choice?" Mikaela released the door, holding up her hands.

"I didn't mean to snap, alright? We're all not thrilled here either." I shifted, and slid down enough to be out of view from the dashboard mirror.

"... hey, Bee? Don't suppose you have any ideas to try and... well, help make things go a little smoother?" I didn't want them close to a mental breakdown before they met the Autobots. If the introductions were anything what I could remember, then I really didn't want them flat-out fainting. Ironhide, with the guns being larger than we were tall... that wouldn't end well.

"Loud and clear, over."

"What did you say, Bl-whoa!" Sam slammed into the side of the door, as Mikaela gripped the handle again as the Camaro gave a sharp turn, veering towards the empty sidewalk of the tunnel and jumping the curb. Tilting himself further, Bee's right wheels left the pavement, keeping a precarious balance on the left ones. "Blake!"

"I said to make things easier! I did not say to do stunt driving!" I hollered up at him. "Bee!" A bright flash of blue light filled the cabin, scanning from the front and moved quickly to the back. The entire sequence happened far too quickly to process, leaving spots in my vision, but the next movement was even more confusing.

The leather, once cracked and peeling in spots, was brand new. Fractures in the windows had vanished, and the overall interior of the old Camaro model had been replaced. Swapped out, and left the three of us in shiny newer model. How was it that cracks could seamlessly melt away, or pieces of the seat being repaired without assistance? Could altering his form really be that detailed? Dropping back to the pavement, and ignoring the loud honks and angry shouts of the drivers behind us, Bumblebee picked up the speed he left in the disguise swap. Sam, hands hovering just off the steering wheel, looked around him in awe. "What the...?"

"Well... that's one way to distract us." I pulled myself upwards, fighting down the idea to kick the seat for the unexpected action. "This look better suit you, Mikaela?"

"He could've done this the whole time?" She asked herself in disbelief. "Then why'd he stick with that sad older Camaro?"

The radio dials spun wildly, before finally settling on an answer. "Are you telling me you could have been a Camaro this whole time!?"

 _ _Is that... Charlie?__ Sam rose a brow at the excited question blaring through the system, looking finally over at Mikaela. "I, uh, have no idea what he's trying to say."

(Time Skip)

The ride had gone without any other problems. We had all drifted into a partially comfortable silence, and in an attempt to avoid the tension still lingering in the air, I forced myself to drift into a semi-sleeping state. The instant we had the gathering, I wouldn't be asleep for a very long time. I needed all the minutes I could find.

 _ _Wonder how much longer until__ __we get there-__ "whoa!" The car rocked, slamming my head against the mirror and bringing me back to reality. "We arrived?"

"Looks like it." Climbing out of the car, our attention was drawn up to the large observatory in front of us. "Any idea where we are?"

"I'm hoping we're still in Nevada," Sam answered. With how dark it was now, and the lack of any signs, we were only left to guess at this point if we were in the right state. "Hey, Bumblebee, I thought we were looking for your friends?" __Friends, technically.__ Bee flashed his headlights, not giving any other verbal response. "Waiting then?" A speck of light entered my peripheral vision, drawing my attention upwards to the left of the gigantic white and gold structure. Mikaela caught sight of it too, walking around the car to the front to join us as we stared skyward. __Whoa...__

No one looked at each other or spoke a word. Our undivided attention was to the four flaming meteors soaring towards the planet, high over our heads. As they broke through the atmosphere, four consecutive sonic booms rocked the air, the initial making Sam flinch beside Mikaela. Barely making it past the roof, the fireballs went off in separate directions, with one crashing over the treetops.

"Come on." Sam sprinted off towards the impact, letting us chase after him. Stumbling over the embankment, to which a large chunk of earth was taken out of it, we spotted what had made the impact. A large metal capsule ahead, reminding me of an intricate metal egg with its designs that, by the vague appearance of it I could make out, had folded away to reveal the inside. __So... like a chocolate egg with a toy inside.__ A tree was burning away near the crash, with small fires decorating the dirt it dug up. The heat could be felt through the cool air,

The pod was hard to see, with the smoke and dust it created when it landed, but the sight of a gigantic shadow just behind the trees from the crash site was hard to miss. Mikaela's breath seemed to hitch, as two bright blue lights stared down at us for a few seconds. It looked away for a moment, glanced back at us, before finally dashing across the field. It was nowhere near the same as Bee. No signs of any color, and no clear protective armor. Once it was out of view, Sam looked to the two of us,, breaking the silence that had built around us. "Now?"

"Now we... go meet them." Turning around and trekking back up the hill, Bee waited for us at the edge of the road with open doors.

"Where are we going to meet them?" Mikaela snapped her buckle in as we pulled away from the observatory. "You saw the other one, right? How are they supposed to meet without the cops finding out?"

Opening his mouth, Sam was cut off by a series of chirps from the radio. Wheel turning beneath his hands, Bumblebee pulled off the main road and off onto a winding side road. The buildings around us swapped to unfinished structures. Between two tall buildings that showed no visible signs that anyone was inside, we drove off the smaller street and into a long alleyway. What windows the buildings had, were either not finished and partially boarded up, or pitch black, darkness the only thing on the other side. Garbage bins and chutes from windows high above, abandoned cars, and metal carts loaded with wood and other materials littered the sides while newspapers moved lazily across the ground. Two streetlights, one at either end of the alley, gave enough light for us to see what was in front of us.

Bumblebee slowly crept to a stop in the middle, In the fog ahead, hidden equally in the light on the building, a massive shape began to emerge. Sam quietly opened the door and climbed out, not looking away from the oncoming vehicle. Mikaela got out on her side, and moved her seat back to let me through when she noticed Sam wasn't going to.

The sound of water splashing drew our attention behind us, as three other vehicles drove up. A black Topkick, a silver Pontiac Solstice, and a lime green emergency Hummer H2. Watching the three near us, circling around Bumblebee as he backed up, the now visible Peterbilt approached until it was only a dozen or so feet away from us. We spun around, us humans and the yellow Bot bathed in the light of the bright headlights from the towering truck.

As a mechanic, I had an appreciation for the finer cars, since I worked with a fair share of them. But it's hard to compare a sports car to what stood before us. The dark blue paint and red flames covering the hood, the blue lights that covered the front, sides, and hood, and the silver and red Autobot symbol on the front of the grill. __Honestly, they were supposed to be 'robots in disguise', and yet their leader chose that as an alternate form.__

And then... the semi transformed.

Words could not even remotely describe an already large vehicle, beginning to reshape itself into something even taller and more powerful. My earlier thought, to when I first saw Bumblebee, was dead on. Optimus Prime... was way, way more intimidating than the other's full height, standing almost twice the scout's size.

As final adjustments were made, with the windshield moving to his chest and the insignia in the dead center, the wheels spinning and locking on each leg-three of them-and the minuscule movements such as the blue helmet atop his head rotating gears along the sides, the other Autobots took that as their cue to transform as well. Clanging metal and shifting gears, that was all we could hear, as the five mechanical giants took up the area around us, making me feel... insignificant. Really, how could one compare to what stood before us? Jazz did a slight flip as he finished, just as the Prime began to kneel down, letting Sam, Mikaela, and I complete our little spin before meeting his optics. __Okay, that's... a little close.__

Sam, while I wasn't sure he knew it or not, was the only thing keeping me and Mikaela away from Optimus, who's face was a few feet from our own. A sad shield he made, but it was a touching thing to note. The hiss of air emitting through exhausts rippled through the tension, the only noise before... "are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?"

Immediately, I grabbed the lower part of Sam's arm, seeing his legs almost give out in a small stumble. "They know your name," Mikaela whispered, the idea stunning her as we watched the plates raise and lower on Optimus' face.

"And his grandfather's, apparently." __Please, don't drop on me now, Sam. You might take me out with you.__ Gulping down his nerves, Sam reworked his legs to steady himself, and gave the Autobot leader a quick and nervous look, struggling to make eye contact.

"Y-yeah?" He asked, the word cracking.

"My name is Optimus Prime." Bringing himself back up from the close space from before, he swapped his gaze from Sam, to Mikaela and I, and back to him. "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"But you can call us Autobots for short," Ratchet informed us. The medic had activated a scanner on his arm, creating a holographic screen and began to search through it.

"Autobots," Sam repeated, reaffirming the word.

A loud bang echoed from behind us, and I turned around just in time to watch Jazz do a flip and land on the abandoned car. "Is it time for my solo?"

"My first lieutenant: designation Jazz." Sam stared wide-eyed at said lieutenant, giving a split startled and confused look at Optimus at the introduction.

It was not clear exactly where he was looking, as Jazz wore a visor; optics were shielded from our view. However, I did feel like I was being watched. The blue glow had the faintest traces of being lighter in two spots, no doubt where his optics were located. __I wonder if that's permanently stuck like that. Can he retract it at all?__ "This looks like a cool place to kick it."

"What is that? How did he learn to talk like that?" It was an interesting question Sam asked. They obviously must have had some language of their own. Did that mean that they spoke like that already, and it was just in a language we could understand?

 _ _I might just be overthinking a lot of this.__ "We've learned Earth's languages through the World Wide Web. My weapons specialist: designation Ironhide." The sound of transforming made us turn around again, only to find ourselves face-to-cannon with said Autobot.

"You feeling lucky, punk?" Sam inched back with a clearly terrified look, not offering any actual answer, and only giving a nervous gulp as he stared up at the two glowing guns attached to Ironhide's arms. While not charged, the heat was still radiating off of the muzzles, more than enough of a warning.

"Easy, Ironhide," Optimus warned, motioning with a hand to lower the guns.

"Just kidding," he muttered disappointingly, bringing one of the weapons up to his face to get a better look. "I just wanted to show them my cannons." Sam sighed, letting a small smile appear. If it wasn't for the seriousness of the moment, the entire experience must have been one of-if not the-greatest moment of his life. Aliens, something that you never thought would have existed, standing right in front of you. The entire concept boggled the mind, and I was amazed at myself that I was taking it so well now. __Then again, I did pass out when I learned where I was.__

"Our medical officer: designation Ratchet." Without warning, a bright blue light shot out of said Autobot's wrist, scanning Mikaela, Sam, and I just as Optimus finished introducing him.

"What was that!?" Mikaela exclaimed, examining her arms as I gave a noticeable shiver. It wasn't as if whatever happened could be felt, but the entire thing just felt... weird. As if you were under a microscope.

"Relax, human," Ratchet chided her. "It is just a diagnostics check." __But what do you know about humans?__ He could read those scans all he wanted, but unless he did a lot of research about the findings, I doubt he'd get far. Still, I didn't voice that aloud. I watched him slide through whatever notes had been generated on the transparent blue screen, but it was hard to gauge his reaction. The only movement that I caught was the faint raised brow at something he noticed, but from what I couldn't tell.

"You already know your guardian, Bumblebee." __Indeed we do.__ Bumblebee gave an electronic chirp, turning from his leader to us and nodded.

"Bumblebee. So you're my guardian, huh?" Giving his charge a thumbs up, I moved forward closer to Sam, watching the exchange.

"It makes sense, you know. After the incident earlier, with them trying to hunt you down, you need the protection." __I wonder... it never was an answer made clear in the movie.__ I looked back at Ratchet over my shoulder. "He can't speak without the radio, can he?"

The serious look that was on the older Bot since he first transformed turned solemn. "His vocal processors were damaged in battle upon his arrival on Earth. However, now that our scout has a field medic nearby," he focused his attention on said scout.,"I hope to correct what was taken from him."

Mikaela remained silent, listening to his answer. Slowly moving forward to stand alongside Sam, leaving me in the back, the younger woman asked the big question that we all had in our minds. The one that would set everything in motion. "Why are you here?"

"We are here looking for the Allspark. And we must find it before Megatron," Optimus responded gravely.

"... Megawhat?" I probably would have laughed, and made a pun at the slip of the name. Even so, the mood suddenly seemed to drop the moment Mikaela had gotten to the point. It felt... colder, and it all came to a head when Optimus ended with the Decepticon leader's name.

Optimus regained his towering height, having knelt a little when answering Mikaela's question. "Our planet was once a powerful empire. Peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, draining it of all energon, and the Allspark was lost to the stars."

"Energon?" Sam repeated.

"The fuel and life-blood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike," the Prime continued. "Megatron followed the Allspark to Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him."

"Oh-my grandfather." It was definitely an interesting thing to hear from Sam's perspective. A past family member you all thought was insane, wasn't. __But really, if it wasn't me, then I probably would be in the same boat.__

"It was an accident that intertwined our fates. Megatron crash-landed before he could retrieve the Cube. He accidentally activated his navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were imprinted on his glasses." Hanging on to the explanation, and trying to wrap his head around how it was his relative who was the one to find an overlord from another world, Sam almost didn't even notice until a few seconds after that Optimus said glasses.

"Wait. How'd you know about his glasses?"

Optimus looked solely at him, breaking out of his deep reflection on what was more than likely centuries of war and loss, and with complete seriousness... "eBay."

 _ _I just...__ "Sam." __Yeah, he deserves this.__ "You idiot." With that said, I brought my hand up and clapped him on the back of the head. The teen gave a shout, and went to clasp the back of his skull where I smacked him. Ignoring Sam's glare, I looked back up at Optimus. "Okay. So the Allspark creates life. How does that affect us though?"

"If the Decepticons find the Allspark," Ratched answered me instead, "they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army." __Yeah, but can they control it?__ The Allspark created life, but from the very brief instances it did that I recalled, there was nothing to the small Transformers but pure rage. Could they even think, other than flat-out attack whatever was around them?

"And the human race will be extinguished." If it wasn't possible, the confused, excited, and nervous look on Sam's face all faded into one of paling terror as Optimus finished. Human extinction, all depending on a pair of ancient glasses belonging to the teen next to me. "Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."

Mikaela and I shared a look as we felt all five sets of optics weighing down at us, both thinking the exact same thing. I had no idea where they were, as Sam had carried his bag up to his room right after we brought Bumblebee home. So at this moment, I relied on his knowledge that he had some sense of where the all-important item was in that mess of a bedroom. "Please tell me that you have those glasses," Mikaela whispered.

"I-I do," he replied back, equally hushed. "We just need to get back to my house first." Sam looked to Bumblebee, and brought his voice back to a normal speaking tone. "Hey, Bee, you can lead us back, right?" Hidden in the question was that he had no idea where to go, and that Bee was our GPS at the moment. Nevada was a huge state, and while we had driven for at max two hours, I had no idea how much distance that put us from Tranquility.

Bee nodded. "I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere, man." __I'm taking that as a yes.__

"Okay... Sam, you better call your parents then." Sam's nervousness broke at my statement, gaining a look of confused bafflement.

"Call my-Blake, don't you think I got more important things to worry about right now?" Well, yes, he did, but that's not the point.

"It depends. Do you really think they're fine with not hearing from you for almost the entire day, after the police episode last night? With the person temporarily staying with them also missing?" I let the question sink in, giving a small smug grin as Sam realized what he was in for when we got back. He needed a good excuse, otherwise the search for the glasses might not go exactly as well as we would like. __Else we face the wrath of Judy Witwicky.__ "Now, let's go... and I'm going with Jazz this time." __Because I don't want to be climbing in the back again, no offense to Bee.__ That, and the other Autobots had me the slightest bit on edge.

Throwing a look back at Jazz, who still sat atop the crushed car, I directed the last part at him. "If that's fine with you, of course?"

"Hey, I don't mind," he grinned. "As long as I get to learn a bit 'bout this planet along the way." __Well... that shouldn't be too hard to handle.__ Now it was just a matter of finding the glasses before... they showed up. __Because when they do... best not to think on it.__

 _ _Yet.__

* * *

 ** **It's been a long time, but I do plan on finishing this story. I didn't want to just leave it sitting.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	6. Cars, Yards, and Sector Seven

**Disclaimer: And the alternate take of the movie continues.**

 **I don't own Transformers.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

"So... tell me about yourself." The interior of the sleek silver car shook a little at the casual question, and Jazz's chuckles echoed through the speakers. "Hey, it's not that funny."

"Yeah, I know. Just a little surprised at how casual you phrased it." I was paying little attention to the clock on the dashboard as we followed behind Ratchet through Nevada's back roads. We didn't take any major highway, in order to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Bumblebee was at the front, with Ironhide behind him, Ratchet, us, and finally Optimus. "Where should I start?"

"Well..." I wasn't sure. I wanted to know about Cybertron, the war; heck, anything! Anything to try and understand the world I ended up in. This was an opportunity, and I was going to take advantage of every minute. "How about what you did before the war?"

Jazz was silent for a moment. Was that too personal a question, bringing up bad memories? _Not that they might be bad, but... how long exactly were they fighting the Decepticons?_ "I used to work with the Security Force," he finally said. "Under a Bot named Prowl. He was one of Optimus' lieutenants. It wasn't that big of a job at the start, just sentry duties."

"I take it you earned your rank as things turned for the worse?" I asked, sensing the lull in the story.

"Yeah. Honestly, I could go on for cycles about the past. Lot of the Cybertronians I worked with are either in hiding across the galaxy, or in a trash heap rusting." I winced at the choice of words. "Don't even know if Prowl made it this far or not. We all evacuated around the same time, right as Iacon began to be overtaken."

"Iacon... is that the Autobot capital?" Names were one thing, but locations were a struggle. I hoped I had that right.

"Sure is. Opposite of that, on the far side of the planet, you get Kaon. That's the Decepticon capital." _So two major cities, one for each faction, on opposite sides of their home planet_ _._ There was another pause, either due to him not wanting to drop everything at once, or to let me digest the information. "Want me to continue?"

"I don't if it makes you uncomfortable," I replied. The side of my head was against the glass of the window, with one hand on the wheel to maintain the illusion of someone driving. I was tired, sore, and I hoped the cuts from the Con fight earlier weren't still bleeding. "Perhaps when this is all over, you can tell me more. I'd like to hear more about Iacon."

"Heh. Sure thing, short stuff." That was nice to hear-wait, what? _Short stuff?_

"Um, Jazz? I'm not that short-I mean, compared to Sam, maybe, but I'm taller than Mikaela." The blinker light came on, and we turned behind Ratchet. Tuning back into the drive, I identified several houses from around the edges of the neighborhood. It took less time than I thought, but then again, we had to stop to watch the landing and escape the Con.

"Not in my optics though," he replied. I couldn't see his face, but just through the speakers, I knew he was smirking. He thought this was hilarious. "We close?"

"Yeah. It looks like Bee is pulling over." He was. Dimming his lights, Bumblebee pulled into a small side street between two taller houses. Once he was as far ahead as possible, without leaving the alley, all lights and engine went out. Following his example, Jazz and the other Autobots vanished into the dark. It was a close fit, having all five in hiding, but nobody seemed to notice. _At least, I don't think anyone's looking out their window._

Sam and Mikaela scrambled out of the Camaro, running towards my direction. Jazz rolled down the window before I could press the button, and Sam slid to a stop in front of the door. "I need you to come with me, okay? Mikaela's going to say here and watch them."

"You sure she can do that?" I threw a look over his shoulder, seeing Mikaela join us. "Really, I think this is more than a one-person job."

"Yes, but you're in the same boat as me, remember? I already called home, so we should be fine about the late thing." So he did call on the way back. "Now get out and let's go."

"Better hurry." Sam barely had time to move before the door swung open, taking the teen out with it. Undoing my buckle, I hoped out, moving to the side as Jazz closed it himself. Sam grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the alley past Optimus and around the corner.

"She's not going to keep them there," I informed Sam, doing an odd jump-skip to keep up with him.

"Mikaela'll have to stall for a few minutes, not half an hour. Do you remember where they are?" He asked, pace slowing down as the driveway came into view.

 _I... don't._ It was almost like the robot from earlier. My head was drawing a blank on what should have been a simple fact. "All I can recall is they're in a bag. Where the bag is... maybe your room?" _I think...?_ Ron stood at the patio door as we came in through the backyard, having ignored the front door. I dragged Sam onto the path when he began to drift off onto the grass, almost making him fall in front of me.

"Thank you, Blake," he called out, giving a small pleased smile, before dropping it. "You know, I buy half your car, then I bail you out of jail and then I just decided to do all your chores." Sam winced at the reminders, letting go of my hand and placing it on the side of the screen door.

"I-I know, and I'm sorry. Mom told you about the call, right? We just got hung up again with Mikaela, and we were doing some cleaning on some of hers."

"Yeah," I quickly jumped in. "The girl from the lake? She was really interested in what I knew, and we discussed different techniques and what we specialized in. Leather work, fixing engines; stuff like that." I was lying through my teeth, but it was the closest to some form of truth I could think of. Mikaela knew cars, I knew cars, and we were dealing with aliens who turned into cars. "Why else would we look like this?"

"Yeah, you both are a mess, but give more warning next time." A low mechanical noise echoed through the cool air, and from the corner of my eye, I could see one of the Autobots begin to stand up. Which one, I couldn't quite tell. You'd think that since they had disguises for a reason, they'd be smarter than that. _Are they just unaware of how bad an idea it is transforming!? Mikaela, what are you doing!?_ "Freshen up and get ready for bed, okay?"

"Y-yeah, you got it, dad!" Ron retreated back into the house, and Sam's shoulders dropped with a deep sigh.

"Holding your breath there, huh?" He spun around, looking up at the arriving Autobots. Mikaela ran through the driveway, managing to keep up with them due to their patience at waiting for Ron to leave. "Sam, you handle this, I'll start looking."

I would've been much more composed if I didn't know what was about to happen. Sector Seven would be on their way soon, and if it was possible, finding the glasses would put us one step ahead of them. By being one step ahead, it would also keep me away far, far away. "Go to my room and start there, okay?"

"Okay." I began to move to through the door, before stopping to see Mojo scurry across the floor, his nails clicking against the smooth wood. _What was it about the dog... oh, right._ Scooping the dog up in one arm, I closed the door behind me and continued through the house. _I can forget things, but of course I'd end up remembering this moment._ It would be wise to not annoy Ironhide, with how stressed he probably was at the moment.

Stopping in the living room, I placed the squirmy chihuahua down on the footrest by Judy. "Sam will be in in a moment. He's just saying goodbye to Mikaela." _Man, am I lying a lot today._ Retreating upstairs, I flung open Sam's door. It still smelled, it was still a mess, and it was going to be a pain looking for his bag. "You better hurry, Sam." Choosing a random pile of papers and clothes thrown beside his desk, I got down on the floor and began rooting through it. _Test, test, assignment, sock, shirt, the other sock._

"Find it yet?" Sam burst through the door, closing it behind him.

"Nope. Check your bookshelves and bedding." Nodding, Sam shuffled around the floor and ripped the sheets and blanket off the mattress. Shaking them out, he threw them down with a groan.

"No, no, no, no. Uh, where are they?" Running over to my side, he tore into the pile, not bothering to carefully comb through it like I was. "

"Sam, you better hope they're still in the case." _Else you're gonna break them on accident_ _._ "There's nothing in he-"

"Time is short." Heads snapped upwards at the baritone voice, we hurried to the open window overlooking the backyard. Mikaela peered in, awkwardly balancing on Optimus' hand.

"They really want those glasses." Opening the shutters, Sam held out his hands and helped her into the room, not letting go until she was completely inside.

"Please hurry." As the two teens got out of the way, I poked my head out of the window. The yard had... seen better days. The path was broken, the fountain was crushed, and the flowerbeds were flattened. Ironhide and Ratchet were closer to the back of the yard, keeping watch, while Bee and Jazz kept alternating between peering around the side of the house and how we were handling things. _Better than trying to make a mess of things._

"Any luck?" Jazz crept up to the side of the house Sam's room was in, keeping his voice low.

"We're trying." Glancing back, I caught Sam ripping a box out of Mikaela's hands, running to the other side of the room and awkwardly shoving it under his mattress. "It could be going better." Turning around, I gestured at the yard. "Listen, we're moving as fast as we can, but you guys can't be out in the open like this. I'm sure Bee gets it, since he's been here longer, but humans will flip if they see you. Just... I don't know, go back to the alley and hide out there."

Bumblebee returned from the side of the house, nodding in agreement. "If that doesn't work, you can park out in the main street. Just give us a little more time, please." Optimus returned to the window, hearing our conversation. "Five, ten minutes, max."

"Will you have the glasses by then?" _Well, I really hope so._ Giving a helpless shrug, he turned to the two closest mechs. "Autobots, fall back."

Ratchet and Ironhide turned to face us, hearing the command. "Optimus," the medic began, beginning to walk around the wreckage of the yard. "We do not have time for-" Ratchet's concern was cut short, as when he neared the fence, the wires of a nearby poll collided with his face. Reaching up to swat them away, the conductors snapped at the tension, crackling and triggering the ambulance alarms of his alt-mode.

The five of us watched at the sparking mess the medic had accidentally created, and Sam and Mikaela hurried over to join me. The light in the room cut out, plunging us and the rest of the block into darkness. "What was that?"

"I, uh... an alien... not entirely used to being around a setting too compact for one his height?" Bee gave a small laugh at my answer, while Ironhide grumbling went over to assist in helping Ratchet free himself. "Power's out."

"Yes, I can see that," Sam replied. "This won't end well."

"No, it won't." The door was closed, and Mikaela scrambled over the mess to lock it. "They're going to come check on us."

"Then cover for us. Run to your room and sta-?"

"Sam, Blake? Are you two in there?" The knob shook, and Mikaela backed away from the door. "How come the door's locked. You know the rules. No doors locked in my house!"

"That's a bad rule," I whispered to myself. Sam turned to me, and shoved me towards the window.

"You need to get to your room now. Think of something to cover for us." I went to protest, going to ask why I had to do something to distract his parents when he was their child, when he immediately continued. "You're handling this situation a lot better than I am, now hurry before he starts counting." _Great. As if this wasn't going bad enough already._

"Hey, Bee? Little help?" The yellow Bot moved to directly in front of the window and brought his hand up. Stepping over the lower part of the frame, I shakily put a foot down on his palm before gracefully falling onto it. "Nailed it."

As fast as he could, Bee moved to the side of the house, just as we heard Ron and Judy enter the bedroom. The others hurried to get out of the window's view, and I was more-or-less dumped into the room, not having the time to step off before Bee ducked out of view. "Still nailing it."

So I had to make a distraction. Something that would make sense... what? "The parents are very irritating. Can I take them out?" _Yeah, how about, no_ _, Hide_ _?_ Getting to my feet, I went to my own door and opened it. Ron, Judy, and Sam were all arguing in the room, with Ron holding two large lights and Judy wielding a baseball bat. "There you are, Blake," Judy said. "Why didn't you come out when we came up?"

"Sorry, I was a little more focused on the damage outside. That blown transformer made a mess." _Let's hope this idea works._ I was good at thinking on the spot, and while not all of my ideas turned out for the best, they at least delayed something from happening. _Though, it doesn't explain the yard damage._ "Sam, is Mikaela alright?"

"Mikaela?" Sam repeated, baffled at where I was steering the conversation.

Ron looked between the two of us suspiciously. "I thought you said she dropped you two?"

"Sh-she did," Sam jumped in. "But when Blake went back into the house, I went back to say goodnight. And when we saw how late it was, I... asked if she wanted to spend the night."

"Sam, if you wanted to have a girl over, you didn't have to have Blake cover for you." _Judy, what?_ "Where is she?" Mikaela, having ducked down behind several boxes in the corner, slowly stood up.

"Hi. I'm Mikaela. I'm a-a friend of Sam's." Judy laughed, lowering the bat.

"Gosh, you're gorgeous. Isn't that the prettiest girl?" She whispered the second part to Ron, who grinned at Sam's confused face.

"Y-yeah, um, we weren't-that's not-" I shuffled into the room, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Sam, stop speaking before this gets even more weird. Judy, do you know where Sam's bag is?" Why didn't we just ask her before? We could have avoided this entire mess altogether!

"Sam's bag? Oh, it's in the kitchen." She gestured to the stairs with the bat, and I sighed in relief.

"Thank you. Thank you." The lights flickered back on overhead, and Sam rushed past us to the main floor.

"Better follow. Let's go, Mikaela." Giving Judy a thanks for the compliment, the brunette joined me in chasing after Sam.

"What about the Autobots?" I looked back to her, entering the room as Sam pulled the glasses case out of the bag with a sigh of relief.

"The Autobots probably aren't around the house anymore," I explained. "With the outage, people are probably checking out the wires, and it'd be hard for them to hide."

"So what then? How are we going to give them the glasses?" Mikaela looked ready to speak, only for a sudden ringing to cut her off. "The doorbell?"

"Oh no." I'd like to think, with everything so far, I kept us on the right track. Nothing horrible, besides the Decepticon attack, had happened. Then... they arrived. _Sector Seven._ "Sam, put those glasses in a pocket, and don't let them fall out."

"You know who it is?" He seemed surprised by my sudden seriousness, but did what I said anyway.

"In all cases, be it books or movies, the moment aliens make an appearance the government isn't that far behind. Whatever happens, play it cool." Mikaela tensed up at the mention of the government, but didn't say a word. Together, with Sam in front, we exited the kitchen, finding several agents checking out the house and his parents being interrogated.

"What is this?" The agent next to Judy, took the bat out of her hands, tossing it over to someone else as he met our nervous faces.

"How you doing, son? Is your name Sam?" _Amazing. Just two sentences_ _in_ _and I already don't like him._

"Yeah." Lights bounced around the room, with other agents examining the yard outside. _Please, let the Bots be far away from here._ No matter how you looked at it, the destruction of the yard couldn't equal the damage caused by the power outage. Neither added up, and they knew that.

"Well, I need you to come with us," the man continued, not bothered by Sam's nervousness.

"Whoa, way out of line." Ron and Judy moved to where we stood, blocking the agents from getting anywhere near us. Mojo, bless the little dog, scampered over to us, growling.

"Sir," the agent said, "I am asking politely. Back off." What part of that was polite, exactly?

Ron didn't budge. If anything, he was more angry. "You're not taking my son."

"Really?" He gave a small laugh. "You gonna try to get rough with us?"

"No, but I'm gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here," Ron argued, pointing at the agents moving in and out of the house.

"Yeah." Keeping the same greater-than-you look plastered on his face, the agent motioned to all of us in return. "There's something a little fishy about you, your son, your little Taco Bell dog and this whole operation you got going on here."

Ron was taken by surprise, looking at all of us before returning to the agent. "What operation?"

"That is what we are gonna find out." A soft nudge to my back distracted me from the new agent moving over to our interrogator, and I stepped back closer to the teens.

"Blake?" Sam whispered my name, loud enough for only me and Mikaela to pick up. "Play it cool?"

"Play it cool," I whispered back, repeating the same phrase.

"Son?" The agent stepped forward, a strange black box now in his hands. "Step forward, please."

Seeing he was unable to back out of the order, Sam shuffled to the front, standing in between his parents. "Just stand...?" Looking at the reader, he brought the handle towards Sam's chest. For a few seconds, nothing. I would've liked it to have been that; nothing. It would've made things much easier, for us, and the Autobots.

Of course, that was all wishful thinking.

The beeping began, picking up and increasing in volume before he declared the reading, grinning. "Fourteen rads. Bingo! Tag them and bag them!" With that, he stepped away, and all five of us were swarmed by Sector Seven. I felt cuffs snap onto my wrists as my arms were pulled behind me, and was roughly shoved out of the door and towards one of the many black vans. It was hectic, with Ron yelling over the noise for Sam not to say a word, and neighbors looking through their windows to see what was happening.

"Ow! Watch it!" A hand was placed on the back of my head, pushing me into the back of one of the vehicles. Mikaela was already inside, and Sam was thrown in behind her. The agent from before got into the passenger seat as a new one got into the driver's side.

With my arms still behind my back, it was difficult to sit. Three people handcuffed in a car that was not meant for that many people in the backseat was not enjoyable. I couldn't tell where we were going, only that we were out of the residential area, and that Agent Unknown wasn't going to breathe a word until he deemed it was the right time.

"... so, uh... LadiesMan two-seventeen." _Guess it's the right time._ He turned around, holding up a phone he pulled from a plastic bag. From my angle, I couldn't tell what was on it, but it was enough for Sam's face to pale a little."That is your eBay username, right?"

Mikaela gave an unimpressed look at the username, and Sam scrambled for an explanation. "Yeah, but, you know, it was a typo and I ran with it."

"Well, what do you make of this?" He pressed a button, and the sound of Sam's voice filled the cabin. "Is that you?" _That was from the previous night, with Bumblebee._ H-how prepared were these people to come get Sam?

"Yeah, that sounds like LadiesMan," Mikaela dryly noted.

"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed." He slid the phone into a pocket, not taking his eyes of Sam. "Enlighten me."

"Well, here's what I said, okay? 'cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen-from me, from my home, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!" I did a double take at the second part.

"Not by itself, of course," I jumped in, hoping to correct his mistake.

"Because cars don't do that because that would be crazy," Mikaela added, giving a small laugh that Sam and the agent joined in. Forced, awkward. All the while, I sat there watching the uncomfortable moment, wondering when... when it would be my turn.

It would come up, no doubt about it. Why wait until we found the AllSpark? If Mikaela's secret got dropped in the car, my would be too. "So what do you kids know about aliens, huh?" He sobered up immediately, and Sam gave a quick look at me as the smile vanished off his face. _Play. It. Cool._

"Oh, you mean, like a Martian?" He quickly replied. "Like what, E.T? Pffft, no."

"It's an urban legend," Mikaela added, her own face neutral.

"You see this?" The agent reached into his jacket, pulling out a golden badge. _Agent Simmons. How could I have forgotten his name?_ He showed up often enough in the movies, so why did that slip my head? "This is my I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge."

"Right," Sam mumbled.

"I'm gonna lock you up forever," he added, giving the badge a shake.

"Oh, god. You know what? Don't listen to him, Sam. He's just ticked 'cause he's got to get back to guarding the mall." I had to admit, I admired Mikaela's wit. Sam, out of the three of us, seemed the most scared. I was terrified, because I had no idea what came next. When it happened, then I would freak out. Just like when I learned of my location. That was the only time so far I managed to truly panic, and I gave poor Sam his own fright when I passed out in front of him.

The agent's gaze snapped to her. "You, in the training bra, do not test me. Especially with your daddy's parole coming up." The word managed to drain all warmth from the car, and Mikaela's entire body stiffened.

"What? Parole?" Sam repeated.

Mikaela barely looked at him, putting all of her attention on Simmons. "It's nothing," she replied swiftly.

Simmons didn't bat an eye at her avoidance. If anything, he wanted her to admit it herself. "Oh, grand theft auto, that ain't nothing?"

"You know those cars my dad used to teach me to fix? Well, they-they weren't always his..." her voice trailed off at the end, and Mikaela looked down at her lap, avoiding Sam's shocked expression.

"You stole cars?" His voice was weak at the question, a mix of hurt and betrayal. If I wasn't me, I'd find it hard to believe to. Mikaela showed no sign while hanging out with us that she had a rough background. For Sam, who had a crush on her, knew her for years, and had no idea... neither of them should be put through this. Mikaela and her family's history, and Sam being separated from his parents over his ancestor's discovery and what later became of it.

"Well, we couldn't always afford a babysitter," she mumbled, "so sometimes he had to take me along."

"She's got her own juvie record to prove it!" Simmons continued, running our friend further into the ground. "She's a criminal. Criminals are hot!" _Okay, enough silence._

"I swear, one more thing that comes out of your mouth that ticks me off, I will take that badge and make you eat it." Childish, perhaps, but I meant every word of it. If he kept that up, threatening them and bringing up bad memories, I didn't think I could keep myself still for much longer.

Simmons and Sam looked at me, and Mikaela gave a tiny smile in appreciation. "Really? And what makes you think you're able to do that?" I narrowed my eyes at Simmons, not giving him another word. "Nothing? Not even when you know the danger you're currently in?" He was trying to coax the answer out of me, trying to make me admit that I wasn't from this world. Sam struggled to sit forward to get a better look at my face, which struggled to remain as impassive as possible.

"Blake, what's he talking about?" The same confusion and faint disappointment, from when he learned Mikaela's truth, bled into the words.

"... nothing for you to be concerned about, Sam. You're not getting an answer from me, Agent Simmons." It didn't come out as a snarl, but venom dripped at the name. "Whatever you might know, it's completely wrong."

"Wrong, is it? Tell me then, Blake, why you don't appear in any files? No matches with your name and appearance?" He leaned closer, sneering. "Why, if I didn't no any better, I'd say we had an alien with us right now." _Did Ron and Judy... did they try and look me up? Is that how Simmons knows I don't exist?_

"Blake...?" _Not now, Sam. Not now._ I didn't need his fear on top of mine.

"It'd be a real shame if her dad had to rot in jail the rest of his natural life. As for your friend there, well, who knows what we can learn from her, huh?" _What, so I'm in the same group as the Autobots no-?_ The radiation machine sitting in between the two seats began beeping viciously, and Sam wisely shuffled back into his seat. "It is time to talk!"

There wasn't much time to reply to that, as the front of the van collided with something that most certainly was not in the road before. Sparks flew out around us as we spun out, screeching to a halt as we then hit something from behind. "Big! It's big!" The driver shouted. Echoing booming came from outside, and I caught a glimpse of red and blue move closer just before two giant hands crashed through the front windows. Ducking down to avoid the glass showering us, the vehicle was hoisted into the air, sending us screaming.

"Shift your weight towards the front!" Sam yelled over the agents. How that would do us any good, I didn't know, but we ended up rocking the van back and forth like he suggested. The glass from the windows scratched at my skin through my clothes, not helping the somewhat fresh cuts from the Decepticon fight earlier. Holding back a grimace, I kept rocking the vehicle and soon enough, the entire top of the van broke off.

We dropped several feet, and the van bounced on its now broken axes, sagging in the front. Bright white light blindingly greeted us far, far above our heads, and I couldn't help the terrified nervous laugh that welled up in my throat.

"Heh... heheh..." the top was tossed to the side, landing on the road with a loud clang, and the beams on Optimus' chest turned off. "W-well now... you were saying about it being time to talk?"

* * *

 **I'm still lost as to how I'm going to end this, but I have some ideas. I don't want to discontinue it, but I doubt I can write all of the films. If I can make it through this, and make it out with a good ending, I'd call it a win.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	7. Wake Me Up

**Disclaimer: To be honest, I had trouble figuring out how to end this chapter, so it's shorter than normal.**

 **grapejuice101: It all depends on how the ending goes. I have a few ideas for the rest of the movies, but I doubt I can get through them all.**

 **Guest: I will, but it won't be answered until the end. And Blake is forgetting things. Accidentally, not on purpose. Both things are connected.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

"Gentlemen," Sam's voice, much stronger than mine was, echoed through the cool air. "I want to introduce you to our new friend... Optimus Prime."

"Taking the children was a bad move." If I wasn't still terrified from being lifted in the car, I'd have laughed at Simmons' rapidly paling face. But having the Autobot leader growl at the agents, even though it wasn't directed at us, was immensely scary. Optimus Prime... was severely ticked. "Autobots, relieve them of their weapons."

The two other vehicles that were with us were stopped on either side of our wreck, all out and aiming their guns at the massive Cybertronian. _Yeah, like those would help them._ The sound of metal creaking drew my attention to behind us, and the other Bots flipped down from a bridge and surrounded them, drawing their own weapons out. "Freeze!" Ironhide barked, his gun humming with energy ready to dispel.

"Give me those." Jazz held out his hand, and the guns were ripped from the agents' hands, striking the open palm with a loud clang. One happened to go off, firing several shots into the air, and making a few men jump.

"Magnets," I mumbled. "Heh. Cool." Jazz threw the guns behind him, letting them clatter to the pavement. As for Optimus, the leader bent down, getting as close to the car as he could without picking it up again. Simmons and the driver stood in their seats, hands up.

"Hi, there." Simmons finally managed to speak, though his air of seriousness from earlier had all but left.

Optimus looked between the two of them. "You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?" The anger still was in his voice, but it was mixed with genuine curiosity.

"Look, there are S7... protocols... okay? I'm not authorized to communicate with you except to tell you I-I can't communicate with you." _None of that's helping you right now, pal._ Optimus's optics narrowed, and I inched back in my seat. _He's gonna yell again._

"Get out of the car."

"Alright. Alright. Me? You want me to-?"

"Now!" _Called it._ Sam jumped a little, not expecting the rise in voice.

"Alright, alright. Get out. Hey. alright, I'm... yeah, I'm getting out. I'm getting out." Two agents, once on either side, opened the doors, and we climbed out of the wreckage. Sam got out behind Mikaela, and she spun him around to check his cuffs. "You see? Very nifty how you put us down without really... killing us."

I wanted out of my binds as much as the next person, but the tension between Sam and Mikaela was one I did not want to get involved with. At the same time, I... I was scared. Sure, I felt better, and safer now that the Autobots had arrived, but how Simmons called me out so casually, I just... how was I suppose to react to that? I didn't want Sam asking me, questioning me, right then and there.

A low electronic whirl came behind me, and I looked up at Bee's concerned face. "Hey, Bee... you mind giving me a hand with these?" Nodding, the yellow and black Bot bend down, and turning myself around, I heard the snapping of metal. "Much better." I brought my hands in front, rubbing where the material rubbed against my skin; red chaff marks were all that remained.

"Should've nabbed you three before they got to you, huh?" Turning around again at Jazz's input, I shook my head.

"No, it's not your fault. You guys had to put distance between us to avoid capture, right?" Sam and Mikaela stormed up to Simmons, who was still targeted by Ironhide and Ratchet, both not pleased with the turn of events.

"What is Sector Seven? Answer me," Sam ordered. One hand was wrapped around a wrist, red, just like my own.

"I'm the one who asks questions around here," Simmons replied angrily. "Not you, young man!"

"How'd you know about the aliens?" Mikaela jumped in.

"Where did you take his parents?" I asked, stepping in between the two teens.

"I am not at liberty to discuss-"

"No?" Before he could finish, Sam reached forward, yanking the badge from Simmons' jacket.

"-it. Hey. You touch me, that's a federal offence." Sam and Mikaela retreated, looking it over.

"You really think we give a hoot about that right now?" I remarked, staying in place.

"Yeah. Brave now all of a sudden, with your big alien friends standing around us," Simmons complained. "Tell me, what's your plan now?"

"My plan?" The two must have been paying attention, because they stopped fusing over the badge, coming back up to us. "Simple, really. You see, for one I'm keeping your badge." It could come in handy. "Secondly, I'm gonna have Mikaela here assist me in handcuffing all of you so that you can't easily come after us." _And lastly... this one might be overkill._ "Thirdly..."

I stepped forward, gave a smile... and brought my hand up to slap Simmons across the face. Hard, to the point it left a rather lovely mark on his cheek. "Ow! What the hell is-!?"

"Don't threaten me, or my friends, ever again. Unless you'd rather have me punch you instead? Because let me assure you, I will." Simmons shut up, the first wise thing he had done all night, and cupped his face where I struck him.

"I like this femme," Ironhide not-so-discretely whispered to Jazz, while Bee laughed in the background. _Thank you, Ironhide. In your face, Simmons._

"Thanks, Blake." Mikaela stepped up to me, smiling appreciatively. "Though I could've handled it myself." She probably could've, but I was fed up with his attitude that I had to do something. "Now, about that second step?"

The three of us had probably too much enjoyment in making sure the Sector Seven agents weren't going to follow after us. They all sat along in a row, two people sharing a set of handcuffs, with Simmons being ushered around a light pole and having him stuck to it. With his hands cuffed together, we used a spare one to keep him tied to the driver, who marked the end of the line. "This is fun," Mikaela said, grinning at us as she snapped the final loop into place.

Simmons looked at us, and I took pride in how the slap managed to leave a bruise. "I will hunt you down, okay?"

The driver, standing next to him, glared daggers at Mikaela. "He'll hunt you down."

"Without any remorse!"

"No remorse." _Shut your parrot_ _up_ _, Simmons_ _._ Walking away from the agents, I elbowed Sam. Before my mind slipped away, before I could forget, I had to make sure I got this out.

"Sam, give them the glasses before something else happens."

Sam stopped in his steps, throwing me a confused look. "What? What else could happen?"

"Optimus! Incoming!" At Ironhide's warning, we looked far down the road, spotting several more vehicles and helicopters coming at us.

"They could call in for reinforcements, for one." Ironhide adjusted his cannon, slamming it into the pavement. Whatever he did must've worked, as the cars began to spin out, struggling to maintain movement before rolling to a halt.

"Roll out." With the Prime's command, the four hurried back into their alt-modes, and took off down the road, away from Sector Seven, and us. _Then how do we get out of here!?_ "Up you get." _Oh, heck no._ It was a small and quick moment, when I had found myself actually on a Cybertronian's hand. It was only long enough to switch places. Having Optimus not get into vehicle mode, and carry us to safety was nerve-wracking. Did I trust him to not let us fall though...?

"This is madness," I muttered, scrambling onto his hand with the others. "Insanity." Optimus lifted us to his shoulder, and we clambered off and gripped the large pieces of metal sticking up. There was nothing to hold us in place, so all we could do was hold on for dear life as the chase picked up.

Sam's arm slipped as we maneuvered around a bridge, trying to stay out of the bright lights of the helicopters, Mikaela hurrying to hoist him back up. He'd probably be panicking a lot more externally, had he not have to focus on staying in one spot with all muscles working to keep him there. My own grip was tight, knuckles white and metal digging into my skin.

Optimus ran through a side street, stepping around the cars without running into or crushing them. For someone his height, it was a little impressive how fluidly his motions were. Although, the crushed pavement under each foot would beg to differ. Looking around, he dipped through an alley, just managing to avoid a helicopter approaching from up ahead.

With the choppers zeroing in, hearing them close in after lifting up from the street, Optimus retreated to a partially emptied river, only having a small flow of water going through and leaving behind a dry culvert. Looking up, the Prime grabbed the metal underneath the bridge, the same one off in the distance from when we crashed, and brought himself up underneath.

"Easy, you three." Adjusting our own grips, we looked out from our hiding spot, spying the helicopters fly by underneath us. _Okay, we are really high up here!_ The sound of faint squealing tires drew my attention to the left, and I could see Bumblebee speeding towards us. _But why is Bumblebee coming this... way?_

I had forgotten. Just like the other times, a piece of a moment had fallen through the gaps. _Mikaela_ _'_ _s going to-_ _!_ "Aaahh!"

The teen dropped like a rock, grip giving out just as Optimus adjusted himself for the helicopters to pass underneath, sending Sam scrambling off the Prime's shoulder to latch onto her arm. With only his feet lodged into gaps to keep himself up, he hung over the edge with his hands wrapped around her. "No! No! No, Sam! Sam, don't drop me!" Mikaela screeched, reaching up with her other hand to hold on. "Sam, don't! Sam, don't! I'm slipping! I'm slipping!"

Scurrying from my spot to Sam, I wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to pull him back up. Bee's tires were closer now, ready in case we plummeted. "I can't... hold on...! Sam!" My footing slipped, and the two of us somersaulted forward, head over legs through the air.

"Hold on!" A flash of blue and red met me, and I lashed out to grab one of the legs that swung down for us to grab, but only had my arm impact it. Hard. Mikaela's screams filled my ears, along with Sam's desperate cries as he missed the safety net given to us.

"Sam!" Right as she called his name, right before our bodies became smears on the pavement, Bee shot forward, transforming and snatching us out of the air. Spinning around on his chest, he skidded to a stop out from under the bridge, looking at our pale faces.

"Th-thanks, Bee," Sam stuttered, letting himself be put down. I gripped my arm, feeling the stinging pain send alarm bells off in my head.

"Sam, get rid of the glasses! Now!" Sam, at my frantic shout, grabbed the case from his pocket and hurled it across the river, sliding across the cement floor on the other side. "They're back!"

The helicopter had returned, and from the inside, we could see a harpoon being aimed directly at Bumblebee. "Stop! Stop! Wait! No!" Sam desperately cried, voice drowning out by the rotating blades.

The arrow missed piercing Bee's hand, but the metal cord wrapped around him, tugging his arm. The other chopper, approaching from under the bridge, was followed by a new one. "Noooo!" Cables were fired, grabbing his other arm and one of his legs. Flying backwards, the metal cords were tightened, twisting Bee around before he fell to the ground in an electronic scream.

"No! Stop! Stop!" At this point, I could barely him him. All I could make out was the incoming vehicles, locking us and Bee in a circle with no signs of escape, the whirling blades, and Bee. Agents ran at him, armed with liquid nitrogen canisters, and began to hose down the Bot. The cold worked almost immediately, freezing his joints, and locking them up.

Several of the agents rushed at us, orders barking through a megaphone. "Get down on the ground! Get down! Get down!" We were pulled to the ground, and I felt someone's hands wrap around my wrists, getting ready to clamp a pair of handcuffs on them.

"Hah-look, he's not fighting back!" He wasn't. Through all the pain, and torture, Bee wasn't attacking anybody. He was trying to break free without harming the humans. Hoisted to our feet, and dragged backwards to a waiting van, Sam continued to cry out. "Stop hurting him!"

Bee's head swiveled around, locking onto us. The bright blue optics were wide, terrified, but through it all, showed more concern for our safety than his. Because... he was Sam's guardian. _I..._ _oh,_ _screw that!_

Perhaps it was a moment where one of them had to break free. Maybe not. It could just be my failing mind. But I did what my adrenaline drove me to do; drive an elbow-the one on the good arm-in the agent's stomach, and rip myself from their grip. Sam followed at my heels, and the two of us each tackled someone with a canister.

Sam took the nozzle from his hands, spraying it at the ground while trying to remove the rest of the gear; I kept the man pinned, keeping one less person from harming Bee. Was I stupid, in what I was doing? Possibly, yes. I wouldn't deny that. I just couldn't stay there watching though. Even if my actions were futile, I wanted to try and help. I had to help.

Several more agents, all dressed in black, rushed us. Sam was yanked backwards, two on either side of him, forcefully holding his arms behind his back. I didn't have time to prepare myself for the men that came at me, only until I was pulled to my feet did I realize it. "No! No, let me go! You're hurting him!"

"Restrain her!" I was forced to the ground-almost pushed-and while they might not have meant to, the side of my head hit the ground. A quick, but noticeable thunk as bone met pavement. It went muffled, and it began to darken, with images blurring together.

"No!" Mikaela shouted, the one word she managed to get out as she watched Sam and I get taken down. Through glassy eyes, I saw Sam look at me worriedly as he was dragged towards Simmons, and was carried behind him.

"Happy to see me again...? Put him and the unconscious girl in the car with their little criminal friend. We'll get her checked out before arriving. I want that thing frozen and ready for transport!" Through the commotion, just as I was being loaded into the car, I caught one last glimpse of Bee's face. _I'm so sorry._ Darkness engulfed my world, and I was dragged away from it, and my friends.

* * *

 _Where... am I? I don't... I don't think I'm dead. No, no. That's not right. I got hit pretty hard, but not that hard._

It was black, and I couldn't tell if that was because I had no source of light, or my eyes were shut. The weird thing was, I actually couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not. I could not feel anything. No warmth, no cool, no... nothing. All of my senses were muted, nonexistent.

 _Sam. Sam!_ Was he okay? He had been knocked out beside me, right? So if I was like this, was he in the same boat? _Not like... I have any way of knowing._ I would sit down, if I was capable of. _Guess I just have to wait until I awake._

How long would that take? Sector Seven would lead them to the Allspark next, which should only take a few hours. It'd be bright out by then. _Hmmm..._

"... low... brain... weak." What? _What was that? Who-did someone say something?_ It was quiet in the void, silent, but the broken words sounded close. Almost right beside me. _Beside... oh no, am I in a coma!? Did that agent tackle me!?_

That could be it. Perhaps I was stuck in her own mind. _Come on, say something else. I don't want to be bored._ "Family... unaware... arm." Family. _That must be Ron and Judy. Unaware, probably means that they had no idea about the aliens. Arm, huh?_ There were a few guesses there, but the top one would be in the drop, when I tried to grab for Optimus, my arm broke. Heh. That'd be just great. An injury like that on top of the mess I would awake to, when we arrived... arrived... it was happening again.

 _Why do I keep forgetting? Some things are minor, yeah, but the location of the freaking Allspark!?_ How could I not recall that important of a fact? Was this an aftereffect of the hit? _N-no, it couldn't be. This happened more than once already._ Then... what was going on there? Why? Why was I missing things, details, that were small or major? _Did... is from whatever happened to me to send me here?_

The mumbling voices, clear and unclear words, drifted out, and a loud noise boomed through the darkness. "Blake, wake up!"

 _Sam?_ "Come on, Blake, you have to wake up." _Mikaela?_ The darkness began to shatter, fractals of light pouring in, and my vision suddenly went white. _Hey, w_ _ait!_

* * *

 **A bit of a shorter chapter, but my idea for the next one required me to wrap it up here.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	8. Hoover Dam

****Disclaimer: Took a while to find time to write a chapter, but I hope this makes up for it. Next update might be the same.****

 ** **If anyone came back to this chapter after it's been posted, I made some much needed editing at the start. Given S7's suspicions of Blake, it made no sense for her to be with**** ** **Sam and Mikaela at the start**** ** **. So, I fixed that, along with a few other things. Hope it feels and looks better.****

 ** **grapejuice101: Thanks!****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

" ** **Reading**** "

* * *

I winced, blinking back the stunning bright lights at flashed in my face, blasting away the darkness and shadows around me. _Sam...? Is that you?_ There was someone there, in the corner of my line of sight, but it took forever to register who they were. _Because holy cow, I can't see right now, ouch._ "Heh. About time you woke up. We were wondering if you suffered any brain damage."

That... was not Sam.

The Sector Seven agent stared at me from across the bed I rested in, face showing an amused and slightly concerned look. Key word being slightly. _Eugh. More of them._ "Few more hours than we would've liked, but I don't blame them." He stood upright, and I caught sight of the pistol in the holster on his hip. There were no windows, wherever I was. The entire room felt... cold. Lifeless. And being stuck with this man wasn't helping me. _Guess I... only imagined I heard them._ Or if I did, it was before we were separated. I doubted they were in the building I was at.

"Where-?" I stopped to cough, a dry and ugly sound. The man winced, and wandered to a single table off to the side. A pitcher of water sat there, along with a plastic cup. "Wh-where am I?"

"Drink." He handed the filled glass to me, and I hurried to let the liquid trail down my throat. He didn't reply to my question right away, only watching mutely until I at last lowered the cup. "How do you feel?" _Feel? Pal, is that supposed to be a j-!_ Another pain raced through me, this time through my head. The cup tumbled from my hand onto the blanket, thankfully empty, and I reached up to place a trembling hand against its side.

I felt... cloth. Damp cloth, bound tightly around my forehead, with the knot at the far left. _Hmm?_ Lowering my hand, I stared at the crimson that stained my fingertips, painting them in a color that hadn't dried yet. _Blood._ Grimacing, I wiped it on the sheets beside me. If I was being held captive, there was no fault in soiling the bedding. If I was asleep for so long, I probably already bled over the pillow case. _And I did,_ I thought, throwing a quick look behind me. "So, I... take it I'm being held captive because of... my unique status?"

He couldn't have been any older than me. From looks alone, maybe in his late twenties, early thirties. He nodded, giving another appraising look. "Higher ups want you kept under surveillance, make sure you're not a threat." He chuckled, finally finding something funny in the mess I was in. "Pretty sure you're not here to bring about an invasion, but given what's going down, you can understand their concern."

"I'm telling you, I am human." Couldn't they run tests to prove that? "And besides the hit, and... this, what else happened to me?" This, being the green cloth wrapped around my other arm. The one that didn't clasp the cup. The limb was fastened securely, showing no signs of easily slipping, and was held in a triangular bandage. _I... when did this happen?_

"Heard you fell from a bridge before tackling us. It's not broken, but the bruising isn't pretty." He moved closer, and I handed the cup back to him. He was careful not to touch my hand, and the blood that still covered it. "You woke up when we were removing you from the helicopter before passing out again." _So I did hear Sam and Mikaela._ Helicopter. That meant I was flown in, and upon landing, they broke us apart. No doubt, getting me there was a far more urgent matter. There was a jump from then, and when I woke up. _What... did happen there? Where was I?_ The odd void, that their voices broke me out of. What was that? _And how far behind are they? How long was I out for?_

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I sighed, head falling forward. There were no cuffs chaining me to the bed. I was free to get up whenever I wanted. I was just... sore, with a headache, and I had no idea where I was. Running out of there was a foolish plan, and could result in me getting shot on sight. "... so Sam's coming here?"

"Him, the girl, and the two programmers that managed to steal classified government secrets." _I-I'm sorry, what?_ Programmers? The... other arrivals. I knew who he was talking about. However, I blanked on their names. It was a fact they didn't appear as much in the movie as Sam and Mikaela had. It wasn't so much as a problem with my mind, as it was I honestly couldn't recall who they were. "You five have been giving the base a run for their money."

"Same could be said for you." _I wonder..._ "so does... you're not going to dissect me, are you?" Oh, I hated it. I hated feeling week and defenseless, but what else could I do? It was a reasonable fear I had ever since I arrived there. The idea of having tools rip me open, my organs laying out on some metal tray under bright surgical lights... I needed to get out of there. Now.

The Sector Seven agent opened his mouth again, either to dodge my question or give a less-than-helpful remark, when a burst of static came from the radio mounted on his chest. Plucking it off his vest, he held it to his ear. "Agent Williams. Is there an issue?" From the distance I was at, I couldn't hear the response on the other side. That didn't mean I couldn't judge what was happening from his expression. The newly named Agent Williams had a small look of surprise, before giving a chuckle. "I understand. I'll have her up there right away." He put the radio back, and moved to my side. "Congrats, Miss Wile. Looks like your friend there's a master at negotiation."

Friend? "Sam?" _Kid, what did you do?_ Negotiation-what did he say to them to get her out of there? _Oh, w_ _ho cares?_ I was out of there.

"Hold still." He grabbed my arm, the one free of the sling, and threw it over his shoulder. Kicking the sheets off, revealing my filthy clothes underneath, I let him slowly pull me up onto my feet. "Alright. Let's go."

It was a rough movement, of him dragging me along rather than helping me walk. The room vanished behind me as we turned a corner, and the halls were slowly filled with pipes and other workers and agents. All in different uniforms, where only a few gave us a look before passing on. Them hearing of the odd girl that wasn't in any of their records, of course they'd be curious. I was human. I was **human** , and they... they were all acting like I was an alien. Something to be studied, or to be feared, or to be talked to like something lesser. _Bee. Bee, where are you in here?_

I allowed my mind to wander as Agent Williams led me on. My head was ringing quite badly, but it wasn't something I could deal with at the moment. All I could do, was try to keep myself from falling forward. Williams gave a grunt, readjusting his hold on me the moment my legs started failing. "Keep up. We're almost to the surface."

"Okay, just... if I drop, get a wheelchair ready." _Bee's here, I know it._ I couldn't recall the exact location I was at, but if I was being held hostage, then so was he. Then where were the other Autobots? How much had they seen when Bee got attacked, and they were all dragged off by Sector Seven? __Wonder what they thought, if they did see it, when Sam and I rushed them?__ If anything, I hoped that they were safe. __I hope I didn't scare Jazz too badly.__

"Here." He stopped at a door, a heavy one, and opened it to let us pass through. The warmth of the Nevada sun hit my face, and I was forced to blink back the light once again. Williams looked at my scrunched up face, and for the first time, he gave a smile. "Welcome to Hoover Dam."

Hoover Dam... it makes sense. What else would be big enough to easily hide an alien? Far, far above my head, tourists lined the edges, a few spotting us at the base. In their eyes, we were no doubt mere dots. The mountain range surrounded us on all sides, reflecting off the reservoir and what water flowed near us. "That's... quite a drop." A steep one. Falling from that would definitely be fatal. "Hmmm..." __I'm... missing something again. Though, it could be because of something that's... different this time around.__ My mere presence had altered how things went, and at the moment, one of them was slipping through what net I had tried to create. _P_ _ _erfect. As if this couldn't get any worse.__

"Blake!" My head snapped to the right, and a massive grin made its way to my face. Surrounded by agents, Mikaela and Sam walked in the middle. The teen broke free from the others, and I broke free of Williams' hold to limp-run towards them. His eyes widened, taking in my battered state, and I looped my arm around him once I got close enough. I pulled him close, before letting go with a teary smile. No, I wasn't crying, but I was absolutely thankful. Ecstatic for him somehow pulling enough strings to get me out of there.

"Owe you big time for this, Sam. Majorly." It took a moment for him to understand what I was talking about, before he gave his own laugh. I preferred this one, way over Williams'. His was genuine, and full of emotion. Mikaela met us, as did the others, and I turned my happiness over to her. "Sorry if I scared you two."

"We can talk about it later," she replied. Right behind her were two other people, and she gestured to them. "Maggie and Glen. They found out about Sam's grandfather through..." she was confused, and looked to the blonde for help.

"Through breaking down the code used to hack the system." Which system, I doubted she would explain further. Classified, probably. "Nice to meet you, Blake."

"Likewise." I looked at the rest of the group, and narrowed my eyes at Simmons. "If I wasn't so banged up right now, I'd kick you into next week."

"Is it really the time to be threatening me?" _Is it really the time to be locking me up like I'm an animal?_ I opened my mouth to retort, when new voice cut in.

"So not only did you bring children into this, but you had some woman locked in the basement too?" Lennox and company. _Oh, bless him._ Berets of different colors, and different insignia worn proudly on their tunics and berets accompanied the group of agents. These men, now, I remembered. They hadn't fully slipped from my memory. It was a matter of focusing on what I myself was getting into at the start. They were on the other side of the world, and from my stance, I could do nothing for them. "What, was she attempting a crop circling?" Lennox's dry question snapped Simmons' hardened look to him, who only raised a brow.

"I can assure you, soldier, that they are the most experienced with what you are about to face. As for her, I'm afraid you don't have access to that information." Epps looked about ready to reply with his own comment, but part of what Simmons said was right. True, the military personal before us had already faced down a Decepticon, but Sam, Mikaela, and I had spoken to the Autobots. We had no fighting background, but with knowledge, we outranked them. As for the second part... he also still had a point. What did my status mean to Lennox and the other men? They had no influence on what would become of me when it was all over. "This way." The Nevada sun was hot on our faces, and blinding our eyes. The sunglasses the new agent and Simmons wore made much more sense. "Alright, here's the situation. You've all had direct contact with the NBEs."

"NBEs?" Epps asked, voicing our confusion.

"Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. Try and keep up with the acronyms." A tunnel stood ahead of us, and we disappeared into the cliff's side, entering a world of crackling electricity and dampened stone floors.

"What you're about to see is totally classified." The agent, who by now I had to assume was the one in charge of Sector Seven, guided us through to a massive chamber. Technicians were scattered about, holding guns, working busily at computers, and putting all of their attention on...

"Megatron." The name was a whisper, and Sam, who was the closest to me, stiffened. He never saw the Con before, never saw an image or received a description, but from the one mention of his designation, the blood drained from the teen's face. The Decepticon warlord, the leader who brought Cybertron to a state of decay and ruin, was petrified in ice before our very eyes. Metallic arms kept him in place upright, and a few agents in white hazmat suits hosed him down with liquid nitrogen. The same way they took down Bumblebee. "Sam...?"

"I know. I know," he replied, equally stressed. "This isn't good." A beat, and he shot me a raised brow. "How'd you know that's him?"

"He crashed down on Earth and was frozen in the Arctic. Who else could he be?" Yes, that was somewhat on the sarcastic side, but seriously? _Sam, use your head._ The Decepticon logo was front and center on his chest, and there was no way it was any lesser Con. Without a doubt, it was Megatron that towered above them... and that made the situation all the more grim.

"We think when he made his approach over the north pole, our gravitational field screwed up his telemetry. He crashed in the ice, probably a few thousand years ago. We shipped him here to this facility in 1934." Few thousand years. If I had this right, then Optimus had his team searching for the Allspark for centuries. Supposedly if Megatron took off right after it was launched, or once Cybertron was too far gone, then... h-how long was this war going on for? How old were the Bots!?

"We call him NBE-One," Simmons proclaimed.

Sam surveyed the group, and with a nudge from Mikaela, he spoke. "Well, sir, I don't mean to correct you on everything you think you know, but-I mean, that's Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons."

"He's been in cryostasis since 1935," the Sector Seven leader continued. "Your great-great-grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind."

"Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age. The microchip, lasers, spaceflight, cars, all reverse-engineered by studying him." Simmons leaned towards Sam, almost speaking into his ear. "NBE-One. That's what we call it."

"Okay, cars have been around before long before you found him, so that argument is invalid," I said. Unless he was talking about modern cars, then maybe. "Second of all, had you seriously not considered your military should know that you've got a warlord on ice down here, right next to a highly populated area?"

The agent turned to face me. "Until these events, miss, we had no credible threat to national security."

One of the people mixed in our group, an older man in smart dress frowned, displeased with the reply. "Well, you got one now." __He's... the Secretary of Defense, right?__ If he was the one to invite Maggie and Glen, he had to have been with us.

"So why Earth?" Lennox asked.

"That would be for the Allspark." I had their attention completely now. Everyone's eyes were on me, and though I'd rather Sam speak, it was my fault for answering the question. __Dang it.__ "See, Optimus-the leader of the Autobots, also known as the good guys-informed us that their war sapped their planet of all ways to create life." I could have gone on to talk about energon, but the less Sector Seven knew, the better. "The Allspark helped create that. So Megatron-your NBE-One-wants to use it to transform human technology into an army and take over the universe."

"And you're positive that's correct?" Simmons asked. He didn't trust me. I understood, but while my background was a concern, he had bigger things to deal with right now.

"It is... you guys know where the Cube is, don't you?" It was delightful seeing the red drain from his face, and the partially anxious look exchanged with his boss.

"This way." Without verbally answering my question, we took off down a side hallway, away from the Decepticon-to my great relief-and to another part of their headquarters. Pale cement and brick walls were all that surrounded us, and the men opened a door to the left. __Banachek. So that's his name.__ The agent's name was engraved on the door in a gold plaque, which led me to believe this was his office. __Has to be. Why else would we go in some random agent's room?__

The room was small with brick walls and a single light mounted against the material. Seven pictures of different men surrounded a plaque reading " ** **The First Seven**** ", right above a desk scattered with papers. Though, it wasn't the room that had our attention, no. It was the outside that had us frozen in place, staring in amazement. Outside of the large reinforced glass that stretched an entire wall, surrounded by walkways, lights, and cars, and embedded within the ground we were so deep within... the Allspark.

"It's huge," Sam mumbled, not believing what stood on the other side of the wall. Frankly... I couldn't believe it either. I had thought it'd be smaller, since the Autobots had ejected it into space. No matter how tall they were, either the Cube was smaller before it arrived, or they had a ton of people help get rid of it.

"Carbon dating puts the Cube here around ten thousand BC," Banachek explained. "The first Seven didn't find it until 1913.. They knew it was alien because of the matching hieroglyphics on the Cube as well as NBE-One. President Hoover had the dam built around it. Four football fields thick of concrete. A perfect way to hide its energy from being detected by anyone or any alien species on the outside."

We stood there for a few minutes, watching people move about the guardrails lining the Allspark, observing the runes and making notes. "Wait, back up. You-you said the dam hides the Cube's energy. And she said it created life. Have you seen that in person?" Maggie had pieced it together far more quickly than Simmons would've liked, giving a neutral look while Banachek guided us out of the room and further down the hall.

"Good question. Please step inside. They have to lock us in." There was a door at the far end of the corridor, a metal one with two workers on either side. Ushering us in, one of them closed the vaulted entrance once we were far enough inside, an echoing metallic clunk bouncing through the room.

"What's that? Freddy Krueger done been up in here or something?" Epps and Glen looked at the massive claw marks on the metal wall above their heads, digging deep into the sturdy material. Several panels had been ripped off, bent and twisted. That couldn't have been human. Far from it. __How often do they have to replace that box?__ Or... was that before they had the idea of the container? __I don't think I want to know.__

"Oh, no, man. Freddy Krueger have four blades, man. That's only three. That's Wolverine! Hrr!" Glen laughed, making a growling noise while clawing the air. "Right? That's Wolverine!"

"That's very funny." The smile dropped from Glen's face, and the two men turned to face Simmons. How Epps was keeping his cool around the man was beyond me. Every minute he spoke, I had to replay the moment I slapped him silly in my head. I couldn't snap now. __Can't say the same for him.__ "Anybody have any mechanical devices? BlackBerry? Key alarm? Cell phone?"

Glen reached into his pocket, and tossed him its contents. "I got a phone," he muttered, previous humor gone.

Simmons caught it, checking it over. "Ooh. Nokias are real nasty. You've got to respect the Japanese." He opened the blue box in the middle of the room, placing the black flip phone down. "They know the way of the samurai."

"... Nokia's from Finland," Maggie said. Sec-Def glanced at her, and shrugged.

"Yes, but he's, you know... a little strange. He's a little strange." One of the scientists in the room with us handed out large goggles, with tinted glass to block out the light. I slid my pair on, and though the room shifted into a darker state, it was still easy to see.

Closing the door, the room began to hum with power, and the others put their goggles on too. "We're able to take the Cube radiation... and funnel it into that box." Simmons moved to the side of the room, flipping switches as we watched a mechanical arm position itself over the phone. A burst of white light shot through the arm into the device, and retracted just as quickly as it lowered. The phone hopped in place, and began to come apart. Tiny parts shifted around, and a tiny alien replaced the phone. Red eyes stared at us, and angry chattering filled the air as it ran forward and threw itself at the glass. Several of us, myself included, jumped back in alarm.

"Mean little sucker, huh?" Each jump the creature made, the glass began to fracture.

"That thing is freaky!" Maggie exclaimed, flinching as it fired of several rounds into the glass in her direction.

"Kind of like the itty-bitty Energizer Bunny from hell, huh?" Simmons was circling around the room, watching our reactions. Scared, concerned, worried... angry. I was angry. I knew the Allspark created life, but this? This wasn't life. This was some type of Frankenstein's monster. It wasn't entirely Cybertronian, far from it. It had a soul, but no proper thought. All I could see was rage.

A tiny missile was fired, and it rammed the glass in front of mine and Mikaela's face. A dent, much deeper than the previous ones was left behind as it scrambled back. "Oh... He's breaking the box." Simmons picked up a remote off to the side and pressed a button, standing next to Banachek. A burst of electricity shot through the box's lid, and the alien shrieked as it rolled off, leaving only a smoking blackened corpse behind.

"I really hate this guy," Mikaela muttered, peeling the goggles off her face. As the rest of us copied the action, the lights began to flicker, with faint echoing bangs resonating from somewhere outside the room. __Oh no.__

"Gentlemen," Sec-Def announced, "they know the Cube is here."

Simmons' boss rushed to an intercom, slamming a hand down on the button. "Banachek. What's going on?" We couldn't make out the other side of the conversation, but Lennox and the few soldiers close enough certainly did, all exchanging looks. "What!?"

"Do you have an arms room?" Lennox leaned in, putting his face in front of Banachek to ensure he heard him. He nodded, and the door opened with the man on the outside giving his superiors a nervous look. "Let's go."

It was a mad rush through the maze that was Sector Seven, everyone following Banachek's direction. Dashing out of the hallway into a larger room, filled with generators, Banachek gestured to the workers scattered around, confused as to what was happening. "Get everyone to the NBE-One chamber now!" Leading the charge, we took off in the direction of the rest of the S7 agents, before splitting off down another corridor. The lights kept switching on and off, the action making my pace quicken. "They're popping our generators!"

"How did they get in?" Sam asked, taking the lead in our little trio. __I have no idea.__ There was no way they could've gotten a Con in with us. When Sam booted the police car's minion, there was no possible way it could've hitched a ride. The only possibility was that either it was hiding on Bee's person, or the Con recovered, and trailed us the entire way, dropping off the questionable intruder. Still, there was no point in wondering how they did it. They accomplished their goal, and we had to counter against it.

"Doesn't matter. We got bigger concerns, kid. Forty millimetre sabot rounds on that table, now!" The instant we entered the arms room, just as Lennox wanted, Simmons barked the order to the agents already prepping themselves. Lennox's team split up, equipping their own weapons while Sam, Mikaela, the programmer duo, and I watched. None of us had any experience in heavy artillery, so we wouldn't be of any help.

"That's good. Get all the ammo you got. Everything you can carry. Bring it." __Though, if this is going where I hopefully think it is.. it doesn't hurt, right?__ I split from the group, and knew they were watching me move to a table. Slowly, I slid my arm out of the sling, giving a hiss in the process. Yeah, it was definitely bruised, just like Mikaela said, but being limited to one arm was not going to be helpful in the next few hours.

"Let's see." I grabbed one of the rifles, already sporting a strap to carry over one's back, and took several of the magazines that were laid out. Ignoring the looks at my sudden actions, I shoving them into my pockets before slinging the weapon onto my person. __Better safe than sorry.__

The lights flickered again, taking several agonizingly long seconds to turn back on. Everyone froze, looking up as the fixtures swung back and forth over our heads. Sam huffed, and moved towards Simmons as he continued to load his rifle. "You got to take me to my car. You have to take me to my car. He's gonna know what to do with the Cube." Mikaela followed him, and I trailed along behind, rifle bouncing with each step.

"Your car?" Simmons barely looked up, more focused on what he was doing. "It's confiscated."

"Then unconfiscate it," Sam fired back.

"We do not know what will happen if we let it near this thing!" The back and forth was only escalating the situation. Most of the people in the room had stopped to listen, hearing Simmons' volume spike.

"You don't know-" Mikaela tried to but in, only to get shot down as quickly as Sam had.

"Maybe you know," he replied dismissively, "but I don't know."

"So what, you'd rather trust your own judgment? The same kind that has Megatron in the nearby room about to wake up?" I snapped, slamming a hand down on the table beside him. "Like that's been any helpful in the past couple of hours!"

"I have people's lives at stake here, young la-!"

"Take them to their car!" No one had time to react as Lennox grabbed the scuff of Simmons' uniform, throwing him back against a table away from us. Guns were drawn with speed that took us civilian personnel back. Still keeping his grip on Simmons, Lennox was aiming a handgun pulled from his belt at the S7 agent who had his rifle at his head. "Drop it."

One of his team members rammed his gun into two agents' faces, knocking them to the floor as Epps pulled his rifle on one of them. If I didn't have the Decepticon leader so close by, and knew how much danger we were in, I'd enjoy the moment a lot more. __A lot more. I'm still very much enjoying it regardless.__ "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Banachek held his hands up, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Drop your weapon, soldier," Simmons, with more calmness than he should've had, ordered. "There's an alien war going on and you're gonna shoot me?"

"You know, we didn't ask to be here," Lennox hissed.

Simmons narrowed his eyes. With whatever rank he wielded, though not known to us, he attempted to get Lennox to release him. "I'm ordering you under S7 executive jurisdict-"

"S7 don't exist," Epps butted in, not letting him finish.

"Right. And we don't take orders from people that don't exist," Lennox added, looking between the two of them.

Sam and Mikaela wisely shuffled backwards, seeing the escalation. "I'm gonna count to five."

"Well, I'm gonna count to three." Not missing a beat, Lennox swung the gun around and planted it over Simmons' chest. "Mm?" His grip on his uniform tightened, ensuring that he would not be making a break for it. Sweat poured down the soldier's forehead, the two not budging an inch. Another bang rattled the room, completely silent except for Lennox's heavy breathing. __He really is ready to pull that trigger, isn't he?__

"Simmons?"

The agent glanced to Sec-Def, but kept his attention on Lennox. Hard to focus on something else when the barrel of a gun was digging into your skin. "Yes, sir?"

"I'd do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys." The tiniest trace of a smile was in his words, but Simmons must've either missed it or ignored it. __With how things are going and how he's acting, it could be either one.__ Lennox had not lowered the gun, and we all waited to see what his response would be.

Eyes darting from the government official to Lennox, he eventually settled on the soldier. "... alright. Okay. Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's Camaro? That's cool." Lennox shoved him back as he retracted the gun, and slowly, everyone else did the same.

"Finally," I muttered, and dashed over to Banachek. "Where's Bee? Don't guide me, j-just tell me where to go."

"Down the hall, two lef-hey!" I didn't let him finish, sprinting out of the armory. Sam's frantic shout was lost to my ears as sneakers pounded against cold cement floor. I was going a little out of bounds, but though I knew we were heading there immediately, I needed to see him. I needed to see Bee, and what those agents had done to him. And they better hope I found him in one piece.

"She's fast," I heard Lennox observe, not that far behind me. Following the leader's directions, I found a large door, standing out against the other smaller rooms. Placing both hands on it, I pushed it open, surprised at its weight.

Painful electronic noises met my hears once I got through a crack big enough to inch through. Though no longer tied down, the Autobot was halfway frozen on the metal slab, sprays of nitrogen coating every inch of his frame under bright spotlights. "Bumblebee!"

"No, no! Stop!" The others caught up to me, and Sam joined me in a frenzy, pushing the agents away. "You got to stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"No, no, stop, stop, stop!" Thankful that Banachek was on our side, the Sector Seven men obeyed, hesitantly backing away and lowering their machinery.

"You got to let him go! Let him go!" Lennox's men stationed themselves at the back, guns raised. Mikaela and I were right behind Sam, seeing Bee struggle to turn around to look down at us. __His entire body's locked up.__

"Bee, hey. Hey." My voice was quiet, and I struggled to keep myself calm. For his sake, and my own, we didn't need any more panicking. "It's fine, okay? Nobody's going to hurt you anymore." That was better than asking if he was okay, because obviously, he wasn't. __Come on, Bee. Respond.__ Blue optics widened, and before I knew it, a hand reached out and scooped me off the ground. "Whoa! Bee!" Cradled against his chest, my heart pounded at the sight of Bee's battle mask shifting into position, and the arm not holding onto me into a blaster. The end glowed with an orange light that was very much ready to fire. "Bee!"

 _ _Why is he acting like-oh...__ my bandages. He witnessed my tackle, and with the addition of Simmons in the room and a bunch of agents who were responsible for mine and his treatment... __should've thought this out more carefully.__ "Oh, crap," Sam exclaimed. "B-Bee, listen to me. She's fine, okay, we're all fine. The Cube is here and the Decepticons are coming."

Only giving a low electronic growl in reply, Bee got off the table, positioning himself at the far end of the room, all while not letting me go. "Sam, get them to lower their guns," I hissed. "Now!" Bee saw almost everyone in there with us as a threat, and until that was dealt with, I would not be settled until then.

He nodded frantically, and motioned to our audience. "Just back up a little bit. He's friendly. He's fine. Okay, come on. Put the guns down. They're not gonna hurt you." Suspenseful seconds ticked by, and the mask finally retracted. The gun shifted away, earning a relieved sigh. "Here, come with me. I'm gonna take you to the Allspark."

The doors were opened the full way, and slowly, we all trickled out of the room before starting to jog in the direction of the Cube's location. "Blake? Are you coming down?" I peered down at Mikaela and shrugged, as much as I could with how I was settled.

"Doubt it. I don't think I'll be coming down until we have to leave." Bee's steps were quick, but he wasn't as rushing as much as the others, keeping his pace in time with the humans around his feet. "Bumblebee, I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me sit on your shoulder? This is sort of awkward." Bee nodded with a smile, bring his arm upwards and letting me scramble onto his shoulder. There weren't as many parts sticking up like Optimus', and the doors of his Camaro form, sticking out like wings, were just low enough that I didn't accidentally hit them. "Thanks."

The giant room we had initially seen from the tiny room was in chaos, with S7 agents running everywhere, preparing for the meltdown and trying to boot the generators back up. "Are you alright?" I smiled at the familiar sound of his radio working, thankful that it wasn't broken or damaged.

"I'm fine. Sorry I scared you." Patting the side of head, I looked up at the looming giant that was the Allspark. Bee gave a low whistle, taken back by it just as we were. __Sort of funny, actually. Finding something that makes even him look small in comparison.__ Stepping around the agents and soldiers as Mikaela and Sam scrambled onto a platform underneath the Cube itself, Bumblebee brought his hands up to the lone corner jutting out from the rock, barely able to reach its engraved edges.

A burst of light came from his fingertips, washing over its surface and leaving thin blue lines over it, sectioning it into smaller pieces. Narrowing his grip to the single square that made up the point, ripple after ripple of white light sprung forth. The runes glowed blue, and from the very back of the Allspark, we could make out the sound of movement. "Oh, my god." Mikaela's hands were over her mouth, words whispered as the object collapsed in on itself, shifting parts altering their size and moving inside a still-formed square. The movement repeated over, and over again, until Bee could easily hold it in his hands. The final sections, tiny squares of what was originally there, snapped into place at the top, with the Autobot moving his fingers to not get them stuck.

"Message from Starfleet, Captain," Bee finally announced, looking at my slack-jawed face. "Let's get to it."

"I... I'm so confused, and... wow." That wasn't my most brilliant sentence, but the entire movement was stunning. "Just... wow."

"He's right. We stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hangar." Lennox had attracted everyone's attention, and the mention of Megatron returned the air of how serious this was. "Mission City is twenty two miles away. We're gonna sneak that Cube out of here and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city."

"Is that a good idea?" I called down. "Sir, what happens if they find us out? Civilian casualties?" There was every right to be concerned with the idea of bringing such an important and dangerous artifact into a city. We didn't need to risk any more lives than we already were. __Because no matter what... the people trying to contain Megatron won't make it out alive.__

"That is true, but it is the closest location to the dam, and will serve as a rendezvous point until we achieve contact for a proper evacuation," Sec-Def said. "There should be a working radio there you'll be able to use."

"Exactly. But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force," Lennox continued.

The older man turned to Simmons. "This place must have some kind of radio link!" Simmons nodded, still staring where the Cube had previously stood. "Shortwave, CB!"

"Right! Yes!" __Little shell-shocked there, aren't you, Simmons?__

"Sir, you got to figure out some way to get word out to them. Let's move!" Leaving Simmons and Sec-Def alone, Bee followed after the others, bringing a hand up to lower me to the ground as we went. Moving to where the other vehicles were lined up, having been driven by some of the soldiers that did not give chase to rescue Bee, I felt a rough nudge against my back.

"Huh? Bee, what is-?" He held the Allspark out, and pushed it against my chest. "O-oh. You want me to... be the one to carry it?" He nodded, optics shining a little brighter. "I... sure." The hoodie's sleeves didn't let me make physical contact, but I was still wary in holding, well... the Cybertronian race's most treasured item. The artifact that helped create their race. Curling my fingers around the base, I hugged it to my chest, and blinked. "It's... warm."

"Alright, Blake, get it in the car!" Drawn back to the moment, I hurried out of the way as Bee transformed, rolling towards Sam and Mikaela in the familiar Camaro form. Several of Lennox's team shuffled out of the way, and I threw myself into the open driver's side. "Mister Secretary! Get our birds in the air. When we get to the city, we're gonna find a radio, and I'll have Epps vector them in, okay?" The teens jumped into the back, pulling on the seat belts as Bee revved his engine.

One by one, we pulled out, situated in the middle of the line of cars. Another echoing bang bounced through the room, and I hugged the Cube closer to me instinctively. As I did, the radio dials spun, and the seat belt tightened. "Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be alright. Alright."

"Heh... I really hope so, Bee. I-I really do." My thoughts, my memory... what good did they serve now? I-I wanted to remember, I did. I was never a huge fan, but I had seen the movie enough times. I-I should know things. Basic things. Details about the alien race still lurked in my head, fading in and out from shows watched in passing. Now though, despite the fact I knew there were multiple films, I just... I...

 _ _I don't remember what comes next.__

My memory had run out.

* * *

 ** **I do wonder if the story is progressing rather quickly, but then I remember that the moment Sam gets the car, everything happens over two-three days. It's a short time-span with not many breaks in between. Though I could have expanded the time skip before he gives the presentation at school, not much happens.****

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	9. Battle Cries

**Disclaimer: Yeah, this update's been really delayed. Not that I didn't want to get back to this chapter, but I got stuck on how to write it, and a bunch of other stuff happened that put it off.**

 **grapcejuice101: Thanks!**

 **I don't own Transformers.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

Everything. Everything was... gone. Wiped clean, leaving only faint smudges in its wake. Blurry images littered with gaps. Was it when I cracked my head on the pavement, that drained the remaining memories from my brain? Or did enough time pass in this world that it all caught up to me? It... what was the point? I just... I couldn't... "I can't remember."

"You say something, Blake?" I glanced upwards into the mirror, spotting Sam's concerned and dirt covered face.

"I just... I'm fine. Besides, we have... bigger things to deal with." _I'm... not the main concern, at the moment._ There were much more important things that we should be dealing with. My problem, while to me was a big deal, was minuscule to the bigger picture. Bee drove swiftly through the desert hills, the line of military cars around us kicking up dust clouds. Far ahead, through the blaze of sun and dust, the sight of bright color met my eyes. _Is that...?_ "Sam!" Approaching us from up ahead, the welcoming sight of the red and blue Peterbilt was able to lift my slump. Hurrying to roll down the window, I poked my head out, short hair whipping wildly in the breeze. "Hey!"

On command, the Prime hit the brakes, and the rest of the Autobots behind him copied the action. Once Lennox and the rest of his men passed by, they spun around on the spot, bringing up the rear. _Man, they're good._ "Bumblebee." Mikaela made a small surprised noise, hearing Optimus' voice come through the speakers. "Do you have the Allspark in your possession?"

"He's got it, Optimus." The Cube was still wrapped in my arms, however, I wrapped my belt around it too, trying every measure to not have it slip away. My limbs twitched, the revelation not letting me rest. Even without it, how could I? We were going to have the Cons chasing after us in a matter of minutes. Whether they could sense the Allspark or not, the Bots were targets, and being with them also put us in danger. "We'll meet you all in the city. They're sending an extraction team to get the Cube out of here."

"Thank you, Blake." The connection cut off, and I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was awkward, with how I was sitting. In my rush to climb into the car, I hadn't taken the rifle off my back. The weapon dug into my spine, but I still felt comfortable having it near me. It wasn't that a gun that size would make any impact on a Decepticon, but the faint chance I could defend myself made me feel better.

The large group merged onto a main highway, Mission City at last visible in the distance; skyscrapers peaking over the horizon and getting closer by the minute. The Autobots branched out, covering all blind spots around our convoy. Things were actually looking good, for once. _Wonder how long that will la-?_ "Are those... sirens?" Mikaela frowned, face scrunched up at the sound. _Not too long, apparently._ The blaring died down, ourselves relaxing for a moment, when the violent sound of screeching metal reached us.

"What?" Sam paled, looking from me in the reflection to the Cube in my lap, as horrified realization painted his face. "No, no, no, no, no." His repeated words, rushing together, immediately spiked our hearts, turning around to face him head-on.

"What? What is it?" Sam ignored Mikaela, twisting around under the seat belt to look out the rear window.

"It's the came cop!" Bee increased his speed, leaving the soldiers and the rest of the Autobots in the dust as we began to swerve through traffic. Mikaela had pulled herself around, the two holding the head rests and watching the cop car approach. Another Decepticon, far enough in the back that we couldn't make out his appearance, overturned cars with a forked scoop on his back. Sparks flew into the air with each landing, windshields shattering and wrecked frames in his wake. "Block them, block them, block them."

Optimus slowed down as the Con raged towards us, while Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet hurried to close the gap between the four of us and them. Lennox's team was just up ahead, speeding due to them knowing they wouldn't be able to handle what was about to happen. _Frankly, neither can I._ The disaster unfolding behind us, it was hard to make out. Other vehicles, populated with humans, were speeding as fast as they could or pulling off to the side of the road, trying to get out of the way and not become one of the victims. All that was clear was the sparks flying, metal screeching, and the feeling of eyes on us, honed in on Bee and what he was carrying.

While still in motion, Optimus transformed, feet breaking the pavement as he turned around to face the incoming Decepticon. A car beside him swerved rapidly to the side, barely missing sideswiping his leg. "Oh, my god," Mikaela whispered. We all were watching it, not even focused on Mission City anymore. The Con, with a loud roar, skated through a bus, his body and the vehicle set ablaze upon impact. The two halves rolled on its two axles before toppling over, its body nothing more than a blackened metal husk.

You know the thing about how in a disaster or terrible news updates on TV, and while you don't want to listen and view it, you do so anyway? That was exactly what this was. None of us could look away. We were too far away to see any people, same as when the cars were flipped with the fork on its back, but without a doubt, no one could've survived that impact. Or at the very least, get away without severe injuries.

The Con threw itself at Prime, and hurled him and himself off the freeway to a road below. Gripping the Cube, nails digging into the etchings through my hoodie, I hurried to look away. "B-Bee, is he-?"

"Honey, I'm tougher than the rest." I wanted to kick him for using a love song, but I got the meaning. Optimus... he wouldn't go down so easily. _Still..._ I hoped he would catch up soon.

Buildings surrounded us after a few more minutes, finally off of the series of ramps that made up the highway. The cop car had either lost us, or abandoned the chase altogether. _Or... waiting for backup, but I'm going to hope it's a different option._ Streets were not as packed as they could have been, an odd thing for a weekend. Perhaps because it was in the morning, and people still were not out and about yet. "They're stopping." At Sam's words, Bee crawled to a halt behind one of the black cars, the rest of the Bots a few spaces behind us.

"Come on, let's go! Mount up!" Lennox's shouts were clear on the other side of the window as we stared out the window. The city's populace stared at us in confusion, watching several of the men file out behind Lennox while he took off towards a pawn shop. Barely a minute inside, he sprinted back, tossing the radios to whoever was outside their vehicles and to Epps in the driver's seat of the car next to us.

"Here, I got shortwave radios." Epps stared at the device, giving a confused frown. The few people that were the closest to Bee had their phones out, but frowned as they shuffled through their screens. _Communications is out globally, right? That's what I think I heard._ I had no idea the aftermath that would bring, taking out every electronic that connected through a network or otherwise. _It's gonna be a mess, that's for sure._

"Wait. Wh-what am I supposed to do with these?" He asked, looking from them back to his leader.

"Well, use them! It's all we got! Everyone back in, we still need to put distance between us and the dam!" Lennox circled around, jumping back in beside Epps.

"Few more blocks it is then." The convoy took off, and I glanced back at Sam. "No matter how far we drive, they're going to catch up to us. He knows that, right?"

"Do you think they'll evacuate the city?" He asked, looking around at the prying eyes of the people. There was too much attention, too many civilians.

"There's no time," Mikaela said, answering before I could speak. "How would they get the word out?" _With no communications, it's impossible._ The cars ahead screeched to a halt in the middle of the street, and we climbed out to join Epps and Lennox at the front. The Cube, knowing it was safer with Bee than myself, remained buckled in the front seat. Up in the sky, a lone fighter jet flew around, and Lennox glanced to Epps.

"Air Force has arrived!" He ordered. "Pop smoke!"

"Raptor, Raptor, do you copy? We have you visual." Two canisters were dropped on either side of the street, and civilians took off running as thick green smoke began to rise into the air, accompanied by a low hissing noise. "Green smoke is the mark. Provide air cover and vector Black Hawks for extraction." The plane flew low, twisting around the skyscrapers with an ease that wasn't human. _Wasn't... human...!_

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide's sudden transformation took everyone by surprise, and the blood drained from our faces. Immediately, terrified screams ripped through the air, though it was due to the alien's sudden reveal rather than the name being shouted in alarm.

"Please tell me you copy," Epps whispered, his words more begging than an order. Through the haze the smoke had created, Ratchet and Bumblebee hurried to transform as well. People ran, screeching and leaving behind their shopping bags and cars.

"Back up! Take cover! Bumblebee!" The weapons specialist grabbed Bee by the shoulder, dragging him towards a toy delivery truck. Grabbing its trailer, they struggled to tilt it up off of its axles, taking several seconds to get a solid grip in it.

"No, no, no! Move!" Through Lennox's fearful shouts, the two teens and I darted from the scene. My legs were tired, my head still slightly pounding from before, but adrenaline said otherwise. Between the soldiers evacuating their armored cars, and Hide's warnings, it was hard to think. Get out, that was all I could get through my head. Get out, get away, move fast. A hissing, growing into a shriek. Two of them, the sound echoing through the air. _Too la-!_

It went black, and then it went white. Or maybe it was the other way around. We were sent flying forward, tossed through the air as the earth exploded feet behind us like rag dolls. Chunks of cement were ripped from the foundation, crashing into neighboring buildings. Somersaulting, barely glimpsing Bumblebee flying against a window display near us, and I impacted the ground hard.

That was when the light began to act different. That was when the pain began, slowly, and then increasing with every ragged breath. "Oh, hell. Blake! Black, can you hear me!" Sam's voice was muffled, and... loud, too. My face scrunched up, and a low hiss slipped through clenched teeth.

"S... Sam?" My eyes opened, and I had to force myself not to yell. Pain. Lots of it, on the left side of my head. Trembling hands reached up to my face, and I brought fingers back to see red. Red _. I'm bleeding._ "What... what is...?"

"L-Lennox!" Sam shouted, bringing his head up and screaming the soldier's name. "Lennox!" _Sam, what's going on?_ The left side of my head stung, with half of my vision a blurred mess-no. No, it... it wasn't blurred. I could see, but... it was foggy, and as I tried to look between them, I hissed sharply, sucking in the dusty air through my teeth. "Help!"

Lennox and Epps rushed over towards us, and I heard the higher ranking man curse when he got close enough. He dropped to the ground next to the teen, and frantically began rooting through his uniform's pockets. "Blake? Blake, can you hear me?" I nodded, a slow motion. "Okay. I-I need you to remain calm and hold still for a second, alright? Sam, go check on the others."

Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Mikaela put an arm on his shoulder, shaking her head. Bee... he had been right next to the blast. They needed to make sure he was fine too, same with the other Autobots. "Okay." Giving me one last anxious look, he took off towards where we had seen Bumblebee go flying, while Lennox undid the bandage around my forehead, and took out two thick pieces of gauze from a small first-aid kit. All the while, as I stared up at him, Epps surveyed the damage.

"What the hell was that?" Lennox grumbled, placing the gauze over my eye, making sure it covered the entire area. Did I hurt my eye? Or did I suffer enough damage around that side of my head to have the blood blind me? Was my ear fine? Because everything still sounded off. _Dang it, Lennox! Answers, please!_

"What are you talking about?" Epps didn't look down at him. Soldiers ran about, checking each other for injuries from the blast and any civilians who were in the premises.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about? They shot at us!" Lennox shouted, temper spiking.

"Didn't you... hear Hide?" They looked at me, hearing my slow but clear words. "Starscream... Decepticon. Same as Megatron."

"Perfect." The long bandage from around my head was tied back on, securing the bandage in place. The other gauze was near the side of my head, just above where my ear was. Stitches; those were a definite in the near future. Lots, and lots of stitches. _Ugh._ "It's not perfect, but it'll have to do until we get this over with." Lennox held out his hand, and as gently as he could, pulled me to my feet.

"Ratchet!" Spinning around at Sam's desperate shout, and heart dropping at how similar it was to him calling for Lennox, I scrambled to where him and Mikaela had gone. "You got to get up. You're okay. You're okay."

"Sam, what is i-Bee!" The yellow and black Bot was crawling towards Sam, his legs severed at the knees and trapped under the wreckage a car behind him. "Bee!" His optics, flickering from dim to bright, widened as I dashed in front of Sam. A low electronic groan came from his mouth piece, lowering his head. "Bee, I'm-!" No, I wasn't fine. I had no idea what the damage was done to my head, whether my eye or my ear were fine and intact, and not decimated by shrapnel. Accompanying that with the blood coating my face, I was anywhere near the definition of fine. But Bee... he was even further than that.

Sam's breathing hitched, barely holding back a sob, when the sound of a discharge ripped through the air. _A tank!?_ At the far end of the street, its muzzle pointed in our direction, and fired upon the soldiers. Its blast struck the broken road in front of them, using it as a shield to avoid the flying debris. Cars abandoned in the road were crushed as it rolled forward, roofs caving in under the weight and windshields exploding outwards in a spray of glass.

"Move out! Let's go!" It was chaos. Lennox's command and wild shouting to try and get them all to act in some controlled manner, amidst the Autobots scrambling to regain their own composure. Sam stumbled backwards, dropping onto a large piece of the torn-up road as he stared at Bee, still inching his way forward.

"Blake, this way." The collar of my hoodie was yanked to the right, and Mikaela dragged me off down the street, in the direction of the screaming populace. Turning into a parking spot between buildings, Mikaela reached down to grab a hammer and smash it into a tow truck's window. Being mindful of the broken glass, she opened the door from the inside, and leaned down under the dashboard. "Come on. Come on." Climbing over the front seat and settling in the passenger side, the truck hummed to life under her fingertips. Springing back up, she closed the door and hit the gas, wheeling us out of the lot and down the road. "What is it?" There was more shouting this time, and several of Lennox's men were jumping into the black cars, taking off in the opposite direction.

"I don't... oh no." Screeching to a stop by Sam's location, I all but hurled myself out of the door and took off running. Panicking was one thing, but watching Ironhide's and Ratchet's suddenly vanishing from view down a side street and-where was Jazz!?

Abandoning the others, I tore through the streets, ignoring the confused and panicked cry from Sam. Bullets, human and Cybertronian sized, whizzed past and overhead. Growling from the few Decepticons warned me to change direction, ducking through a small but long gap between buildings and taking the rifle off of my back. "Where the hell are they?" I hissed, popping in a magazine and cocking the weapon. The only reason why everyone might have split up could've been the arrival of one Decepticon warlord. Even with my mind-wipe, I knew that would still be a given.

 _So then where could they-?_ "That all you got, Megatron?"

I stiffened, hearing the silver Bot's familiar voice echo down the brick walls. _Jazz... Megatron._ "Oh, crap." Hugging the rifle close, I once again ran around the alley, popping out on the other side and looked up. High above my head was Jazz and Megatron-there was no mistaking the rusted and sharpened pieces of metal and dark red optics, the image of his frozen form in Sector Seven was hard to forget-firing at each over.

The wall beside me exploded, sending shattered pieces of brick crumbling to the ground. A misfire, or an incorrect aim from the Con. A startled yelp as I jumped out of the way, I refocused on the brawl overhead. "Come here, little cretin." _No. No, no, no!_ Where were the other Autobots!? Didn't they know that one of their team was missing!? _Where's Optimus!?_

"You want a piece of me? You want a piece!?" The cool metallic feel of the gun still tightly held in my hands, I inched back towards the alleyway and held the muzzle skywards.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." It was stupid. Idiotic. Sure, the bullets were effective against their metal, but what could would that do for someone who wasn't that familiar with guns, on top of the target being the one directing the assault against human-kind? As for the plan itself, I had to hit his face. If I steadied my aim well enough, perhaps close to the optics, there was a chance to get Jazz out of his claws.

If I screwed it up, Jazz was going to die... no beating around the bush, that was what would happen if I aimed wrong. There was also the addition that Megatron could spot me before or after I fired, and... well, bottom line, there was several options of how this could play out. _Not helping with the use of one eye either._ "No!" A pained shout, and the shrieking of metal echoed high above my head, and I hurried to aim the rifle, keeping it as steady as one could with nerves running rampant. "I want two!" _Time's up!_

I gripped the gun, took a split second to look through the sight, and pulled the trigger.

Rifles were... weird. They were not heavy, but the momentum from firing was enough to almost knock me off my feet. Shoulder hitting the wall next to me, the sound of the bullets made my ears ring, and it took a moment to register the sound of loud annoyed growling. _Got 'em._ The sound of crashing metal, and the whistle of a missile motivated me to hurl myself out of the way, further into the enclosed space. The alleyway exploded, walls crashing down around the enclosed space. "Aah!"

The eruption of jet engines met my ears, and all that remained was the explosions in the streets behind. Was Megatron gone? It sounded like he was gone. _I'd like that._ It took a moment to regain my bearings, and once I was certain that the warlord had left, I slung the rifle back over my shoulder and climbed over the rubble. No other Con was around, and the street was filled with people evacuating from the buildings around me, running as fast as they could away from the blasts and screaming on the street on the other side of the alleyway. Jazz was crumbled against the side of a storefront, a hand clutching a wound on his side. Bright blue sparks flew from the injury, green liquid seeping down the silvery metal. _Oh, please tell me I aimed well enough._

"Jazz. Jazz, are you okay?" Bumblebee had his legs blown off. That could be repaired. Could Ratchet repair that? Was it too severe? "Jazz?"

"Heh... ugh." He groaned, and the faint appearance of blue flickered behind his visor. "Nice aim you got there, human."

"Please tell me I hit him and not you." I didn't see any bullet wounds, but compared to their weaponry, my attack might not have been noticeable unless they really looked for it. His visor wasn't cracked though, so at least I didn't hit him in the face by accident. _Thank goodness._

"Well... you fired four rounds. Not sure if ya got him in the optics or not, but it did the trick." Jazz chuckled again, until he gave a grimace. "Looks like I'm out of the fight. Can't really go takin' down Cons with this, can I?"

"You're sure that you're not gonna...?" Bleed out? It wasn't blood, so I didn't think that was the right term. Jazz laughed again, and with the hand not currently holding his wound, lightly bumped my shoulder. A friendly gesture, which was clearly an attempt to try and calm me down.

"Don't be stressin' about me. You just go and get the Allspark out of here. Or... you could stay hidden." He must have meant my own bloodied state. He was concerned. _Have you seen yourself, Jazz?_

"I'll be fine. Hearing and sight isn't up to par, but Sam's going to need help." I stepped back, and quickly glanced around the street. It wasn't a large one, and from the sounds of the explosions, nothing would be coming in Jazz's direction for a while. At the very least, not for a while. He wasn't going to be up and about for a while, but he still had his guns. _He'll be fine. Now get going and make sure Sam's in one piece._ "Good luck."

Another explosion ripped through the air, and sparing the Bot one last look, I took off in its direction. Smoke pillowed around the businesses and apartments, their structures collapsing from the brawling along the other streets. It hurt, my head hurt, and I was amazed I hadn't passed out yet. _For, what, the third time since coming here. Though, only one of them was due to injuries._ _Other being from shock._ Head hurt, lungs hurt, legs were aching. But... I saved Jazz. Did-was that something that was supposed to happen, in the film? Jazz's death?

"Ugh, forget it!" _It doesn't matter if it was or not!_ It didn't matter. I had a hunch, and I acted on it. Megatron was about to tear him apart, leaving his severed remains for one of his teammates to find, and I stopped it. Not very well, but it worked. _It doesn't matter._ Priorities... Sam, Mikaela, and Bee and the Cube were the priorities. _Hang in there, guys._ We could do this. We would get out of this. _Just hang in there a little longer._

* * *

 **I could have put the entire Mission City fight into one chapter, but that didn't seem right. So, in the end, I'm going to stretch it over two. Hopefully, it won't take long to get that out again. Hopefully I did a good job at sparing Jazz in the process.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	10. Crashing Down

****Disclaimer: Definitely an odd chapter to write out. The entire chase scene was difficult to plan, trying to make it come off as them being in a desperate rush and keeping the sense of danger. Though, I'm happy with how the end result.****

 ** **I don't own Transformers.****

"Speaking"

 _ _Thinking__

* * *

Quick, long strides, passing by broken cement and shattered glass, and embedding into the thankfully thick soles of my worn shoes. Screams continued to pierce the air, with the rapid sound of gunfire and explosions. Keeping along the side of the street, watching the few Decepticons attack on the other side, I waited for a break in the action before ducking through an alley to rejoin the chaotic mess. People shoved past me, running through to the other side and away from the bullets and fire. Elbows in my chest, jostling the rifle on my back, until I popped out of the wall of bodies.

"Watch out!" It took a moment to register the shout as Ironhide's, and once I did, I threw myself against the side of the alley, watching the weapons specialist and Ratchet sprint down the street, firing over their shoulders at the oncoming enemy. Between the two of them, with the Allspark clutched in his arms, Sam furiously ran. __Where is he-the evacuation.__ He was taking it to the evacuation point.

"Sam!" His head twisted in my direction, and his mouth opened. His shout was lost in the commotion, his voice unclear through the blasts. "Ergh!" Hurling myself back into the street, I sprinted to the middle of the street and began to run behind Sam, pushing my legs to make up for the feet between us. Yelling was a futile action now. It'd waste breath and slow me down.

"Keep moving, Sam! Don't stop!" The tank, having now transformed, fired upon the two of them. The Bots returned fire, shooting back at him while we tore through the streets.

"Look out!" Reaching forward, my fingers wrapped around his jacket and I pulled Sam to the road. A jet, perhaps Starscream if I took the time to check, flew down at us and transformed mid-air. The parked cars around him were overturned, sending flashes of hot sparks and metal flying around the street. Shuffling to the side against a still stationary vehicle, I threw my arms over my head as bits of debris pelted us, hearing the loud machinery overhead.

"Whoa!" Sam spared a look, getting a good view of the Decepticon second-in-command. Satisfied with his onslaught, he transformed and took off down the street. "Get up." He tugged at my arm, and we hurried back to our feet, turning to the Autobots behind us. __Oh, no.__ Ratchet was knocked to the ground, slowly pulling himself back up with a groan. Hide clutched at a sparkling hole in his chest, energon staining the metal palm.

"Sam, get to the building!" Heeding Ironhide's words, while we wanted to verify that they were fine, there was no time to waste. Giving them a final glance, Sam took the lead in running towards the evacuation zone, and the rest of the Autobots and human allies were left behind.

 _ _No sign of any other Cons. So far so good.__ How much farther was it? Were we close? "Huff... huff... huff..." vicious pants, and possibly bleeding feet from the hard running; everything was hurting. My face hurt. The entire upper left, blocking out an eye and muffling sound. __Let us be close. Let it be close.__

A whistle, and the ground shook behind us. "Give me that Cube, boy!" __Jinxed it.__ Biting my lip, I pushed myself to match Sam, grabbing his free hand and tugged him along. Separating now was not an option. The warlord saw both of us, and I did not want to find out if he knew it was me who shot him in the face.

"Whoa!" I yanked the teen to the side, almost having him fall to the ground and drop the Cube. A car driving up the street, unaware of the disaster ahead, brushed against his side. The driver hit the breaks, glaring at the two of us as we regained our sense and continued onward.

"There it is." The building was large. Giant iron gates over massive windows in the front, with intricate pillars and dozens upon dozens of smaller windows. A wire fence surrounded the front, and releasing his hand, we squeezed through the gap left unlocked.

Another door, left opened, and Sam took the lead through the massive abandoned building. The ceiling was high above our heads, supported with pillar after pillar. "You're not gonna get me," Sam panted. He looked around, searching for his next move. "You're not gonna get me!" He darted down the long hall ahead of us, bright sunlight shining through one of the windows and blinding our faces. A stairwell sat at the end, and climbing the littered steps, we hurried through a mirroring room on the new floor.

"I smell you... boy!" I looked back over my shoulder, hearing the roar echo around the small hall Sam lead us through. __He's in the building.__ Sam darted to the right, finding a rickety metal stairwell and began moving upwards. __Come on, come on.__

"The rest of it's broken... this way!" Sam ran off through another door, and I paused to look above. The metal frames were broken, steps missing or rusted away. Third floor. Was this enough, to put a distance between Megatron and us? Could he reach us where we were?

Running through the hall, the pillars along the side resembling women in long robes, a massive bang erupted from behind. I jumped forward to join Sam, kicking my legs up to avoid the floor being ripped apart from underneath me. The feel of hot breath was felt on the back of my neck, the sensation of eyes staring at me. __Don't look back. Don't look back.__ "Maggots!" Sam had reached the new stairwell, watching the metallic claws curl inward, making sure I reached him in one piece. Neither of us wanted to see if he would or could continue to chase us through the abandoned structure, and neither of us wanted to find out. __Keep going.__

The stairwell echoed in footfalls, each sneaker pounding against the flat metal as we ascended further and further up the building. The Cube was tucked under Sam's arm, keeping his other hand on the railing in fear of tripping or the floor breaking apart under his feet. Two steps behind him, keeping to his right, through the wall, I could hear the faint growling and movement, reverberating all around the tightly enclosed space. "Do you think he's waiting for us outside?"

"No," Sam said, jostling the Allspark to fix his hold. "I think he's still in here. Where did you go?" Halfway there. We were halfway to the roof. __How many floors has it been?__ How long had we been climbing for? The blood pumping in my ears and staining the bandages around my skull, the fear chasing around in circles in my head; I had no exact sense of time.

"Saw Jazz was missing," I answered between breaths. "Shot Megatron in the face." Sam stumbled, nearly sliding back a few steps, and threw a look back at me. "He was about to be torn in half, Sam."

"Well, if he is waiting outside," he said, picking up the lost pace. "Then you might want to stay in here."

"Unless you're right in that he's still in the building, then that's a really bad idea." __Two more floors.__ The top of the building was visible from our position now, closer with each step. "Sam, I-I just want to say that-before anything goes even more wrong-I am... really glad you guys took me in." Sam stopped, a few steps off from the top floor, and looked back at me. "You-Sam, what Sector Seven said, you know something's... off about me."

"Could've been a lot worse for you if we called the police." I nodded, swiping at the sweat staining my forehead. "The fire escape should be around here." He smiled, and waited until I was at the top before progressing again. Sam, he... he was brave. A lot braver than I'd taken him for. He knew what was at risk. How dangerous his actions were. Yet he also knew what would happen if he did nothing. "Over here." He gestured to a window, draped in a torn cloth. Tearing it off, he poked his head out of the empty frame. "Careful."

The black metal shook when he stepped out onto it. Beside the window, a ladder lead up to the rooftop. Sam awkwardly tucked the Cube under an arm, grabbing hold of one of the railings and began climbing. The rifle clanged against the bar as I positioned behind him and followed suit. "Overhead!" The whirling of blades filled the air, not like the vicious blasts of jets from the Cons, and Sam took off across the rooftop. "H-hey!"

Rusted building units sat abandoned, obstacles for running around to keep up with him. "Hey!" The chopper was close, lowering itself once it had caught sight of his movement. Reaching into his hoodie's pocket, Sam pulled out and slammed a flare against the wall, igniting its end and sending off red sparks. "Heeey! I'm over hereee!" Ducking around clothes string up on the roof, left by squatters who must have ditched the building with many others, we watched two helicopters fly in close, watching the red blaze and smoke drift up from beneath them.

"Ha!" Sam dropped the glare, seeing another helicopter rise up from below the building, keeping itself level with the roof. A solider tightened a belt around him, and with the same relief as the two of us, held his arms out to grab the Cube from his hands. Fingertips. It was held by the edge of his fingers, the Allspark almost reaching the man. __Come on, S-!__ "Watch out!" Sam grabbed my arm, the one that was not damaged from the bridge fall, and hurled me to the ground.

"Missile!" Missile. A Con had fired at them. The chopper spun out, the tail swiping over our heads and breaking apart the building. Cement, and sparks flew around us, and through fearful shouts, he and I looked up to see the vehicle crash out of view, the dying whirls of the blades fading in the wind.

"We gotta move." A claw burst from the roof behind us, and scrambling to our feet again, we ran. Another claw, digging into the surface and pulling the rest of the warlord from the wreckage. "No-no! No!" There was nowhere to run. As Megatron pulled himself from the depths of the building, our access to the stairs was blocked. Sam rushed to the farthest statue of the building, the corner of the rooftop, and grabbed the stone robe. With the Cube still held tight, to the point the grooves of the runes left scratches in his hand, he shuffled along the edge until the streets were at his back.

Hesitation was a given. Falling being my cause of death, or... him. I scaled the other side of the statue, looping an arm around Sam's to try and keep him steady. "Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshlings?" Megatron's question, it was hard to determine if he was mocking. Whether he was actually interested in what our motivation was, to keep ahead of him and protect the strange item in his arm.

"Ooooh... where do I go?" Sam's voice was quiet, looking from the Cybertronian, to the street below. "Where do I go?" __Nowhere. There's nowhere to go.__ Any movement he would make, would loosen the safety of his current footing. His life was threatened no matter where he went. Sirens blared beneath us, but it was hard to tell from where. "No. Ah. No. No, no, no."

"Steady, Sam." Red optics flickered from him to me, and I shuffled closer to Sam.

"You have some nerve to fire upon me, human." __Oh, legs, don't fail on me now.__ I was shaking, struggling to keep myself in that one spot. A clawed hand wrapped around one of the statues, the second in the line of four. "Hmm. Give me the Allspark, boy, and you two may live you be my pets."

 _ _Pets?__ I frowned at the word, and felt a sharp tug on my arm from Sam. "Whoa!"

"Whoah!" Sam near-slammed his face against the statue. A section of the cement broke under his foot, plummeting towards the sidewalk far below. "Oh, no, no, no, no." __Steady, Sam!__ I-what... now what? Accept his offer, and give up with Allspark? Pray that one of the Autobots gets to them in time? __What do we do now?__ "... Blake?" Feet shifted slightly, and I spared a quick look to the teen. "You... know what we have to do, right?"

Honestly, the phrasing of that would've made me laugh, had I not been close to falling. "Y-yeah... I know."

Sam smiled, before we turned back to Megatron. The two helicopters from before flew past us, and Sam's following shout echoed on the wind with their sound. "We're never giving you this Allspark!" He hurried another look to me, smile turning weak. "Been nice knowing you, Blake." __You too, Sam.__ It was... definitely a memorable one.

"Oh, so unwise." He growled, and brought his hand back. __Attack. Jump.__ The weapon, a form of wrecking ball, came from his hand and flung forwards. Each statue before us, shattering upon impact. __Jump!__ It hit the ground at the foot of our statue, and the woman broke at her waist, sending her torso backwards with the rest of us. __JUMP!__

I couldn't. He was too fast. The ground was at my back before I could move, and feet were above my head as I fell. Sam's arm was free from my own, somersaulting through the air screaming. Fire flared where the impact was made, a helicopter narrowly missing Megatron's assault. "Aaahhh-ah!?"

We hit warmth. Metal warmth, shifting underneath our trembling bodies. Our backs stung from the impact, and large metal fingers curled around us. "I got you." Winded, we turned ourselves around to face the Prime, using his legs and arm to support himself between two buildings. Dark blue optics, a drastic change from the violent red of Megatron's, stared back at us. __Optimus.__ "Hold onto the Cube!"

Behind the hand holding us to his chest, we heard windows and buildings breaking apart, and an enraged growl from far above. What was happening outside, the wall around us, was unclear. All I could see was Sam's face, heavily coated in sweat, grime, and dirt. "Heh... heh..." from the sound, we could've thought that the Prime was jumping between the two buildings. The transition closer to the ground reversed, and we could hear civilians screaming outside of the grey blockade. Screaming, and the shouts of Optimus and Megatron knocking into each other as we free-fell the rest of the way to street. Tires squealed as cars came to a stop, and the hand around us loosened. "Sam?" Pulling ourselves into a crouch, we watched his face mask retreat. "You risked your lives to protect the Cube."

"No sacrifice. No victory." By no means, was I a Witwicky. No relationship there in the slightest. But in the moment, repeating Sam's four words in my head... that motto fit me to a T. __Sacrificed a lot to get help them, huh?__

"If I cannot defeat Megatron, you must push the Cube into my chest. I will sacrifice myself to destroy it." __What? No.__ He-sacrified? Did he actually believe that getting rid of the Allspark would actually stop the Cons from continuing their attack on Mission City!? __That's a horrible idea!__ "Get behind me."

Sam tugged on my sleeve, and I gave the alien one last look before sliding off his chest. A deep trench, possibly created from one of the Cons' missiles, laid just behind Optimus, and Sam slid down the rocky terrain into it. The muddy water immediately sank into my shoes, sliding close to the ground to meet him. Feet were cold, and the smell was retched. Massive wires stuck out on either side, and two ends of a broken water pipe passed over our head, dribbling more water down into the pit.

"It's you and me, Megatron." From the depths of the hole, we watched Optimus return to his feet, as did Megatron.

"No, it's just me, Prime." A rush of dirt washed over us, Sam's arm throwing up to block it.

"At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall." __Ah, now there's something that's at least somewhat familiar to me.__ Even with the blotchy memories, that was one saying that was hard to forget.

"You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!" There was no shooting this time. However, one of the Con's hands had been exchanged for a sword, swiping at Optimus and throwing him against a nearby building. Reaching the end of the trench, we pulled ourselves up high enough to watch the surrounding streets.

"Sam." I pointed down the street. Another Decepticon was shooting down the street, attacking the firing soldiers hiding within the first floor of a building. Several blasts erupted from behind Megatron, and turning our heads skyward, we saw several jets soar by. "Starscream?"

"One of them, probably. Any ideas?" He asked, turning back to look at me. His eyes were still partially focused on the fight, however, in case we had to move out of the way again.

And any idea, meaning any way to not assist Optimus in his rather foolish plan. __Well, I don't want to be firing at him again. I'm not risking myself a second time.__ "I don't..." __wait.__ I-I did have an idea. A rather crazy one, but it should work... I hoped. "Two birds and one stone?"

"Two..." brown eyes lit up, and he looked from the ongoing fight to me, stunned I was going that route. "You think?"

"Well, do you have any other ideas? I'm not shooting at Megatron again, and we don't have any other weapons." I rested a sleeve-covered hand on the top of the Cube, its warmth bleeding through the fabric. "It's all we have left." It was... horrible. Truly horrible, what my conclusion was. If we didn't destroy the Cube, we were done. We'd die, and the Autobots would be outnumbered. Even now, with so little Decepticons, we were struggling. We had to destroy the Allspark. _Even... even if it means that they can't rebuild their home._ "What other choice do we have, Sam?" All I could do, was pray that in the future, there would be a way to revive Cybertron without the Allspark's assistance. _I'm so sorry, guys._

"Okay. Okay, let's... let's do it." The missiles returned, the quantity of planes having shrunken by two, and fired down upon the center of the street. "Aah!" Diving back down into the trench, we climbed out on the other side, distancing ourselves from the ensuing explosions. Optimus himself had been knocked to the side from the blasts, not having time to get out of the way, and we watched strike after strike fire at the warlord. Pieces of dark grey armor broke away, and Megatron fell to the ground, claws scraping against the pavement. An enraged growl left him, optics locking onto us.

"MINE!" We scrambled backwards, not wanting to put our backs to Megatron, while energon leaked from fresh open wounds. "I'll kill you! Mine! Allspark!" His sentences were desperate, clearly seeing that at that point, he wasn't going to win. No matter what happened, either his wounds killed him... or we did.

"Sam! Put the Cube in my chest! Now! Sam!"He shared almost the exact same tone as the Decepticon leader, though wanting us to destroy the Cube rather than hand it over. But I wouldn't do it; killing him. We wouldn't do it. Rushing forward, Sam slid to a stop under Megatron, still holding himself upwards on weak arms, and held the Allspark up to his chest. "No, Sam!" His arms shook, and the moment the artifact was close enough to his chest cabinet, a burst of orange light shot outwards into it. A startled and pained cry came from above our heads, mixing with Sam's own struggling grunts. His limbs shook, fighting to keep the Cube upright as it broke apart, bit by bit, into the blue light hidden behind Megatron's chest panels.

 _ _He needs help.__ Any second now, the teen appeared ready to collapse. Drop to the splintered roadway in exhaustion. Rushing to his front, I stared up at the Allspark and brought my bloodied hands towards the engraved symbols, glowing as it released its raw energy. "Mmm!" Sleeves falling down my arms as they were brought up, I paused for only a second before grabbing onto the other side of the Cube... and held back my own inhumane shriek.

Fire. it was like fire was on my hands, burning my palms, bursting through the skin on the other side. Trailing down my arms, snapping and biting at nerves and bones. My heart pounded viciously, struggling with the overflow of energy streaming from the contact. __Let it stop! Please, let it STOP!__

The final squares left my hands, and the remains of the Cube were sucked into the glow above. Stunned, Megatron straightened, clawing at where the Allspark had entered. Choking sounds, as though someone had wrapped a hand around his throat, fighting for air to fill damaged lungs. Red lights flickered, and Sam pulled us to the side as the titan came crashing down next to us. "Huff... huff... B-Blake...?"

"I don't...?" Was he... dead? __Did we kill him?__ Optimus pulled himself to his feet, and Sam guided us away from the Decepticon, putting several feet between ourselves, and the one hand that was not clinging to his chest cavity. __Is he?__

"Hold up." Ignoring Lennox's voice, and the approaching soldiers with guns drawn, the Prime walked over to Meagtron. Another flicker, and then, the optics finally went out. __He is.__ Megatron, the bloodthirsty leader of the Decepticons, was dead.

"You left me no choice, brother." His head turned to us, and Optimus knelt down to our height. _Him no choice?_ What did that mean? He wasn't the one who killed him. _Or is it because he felt like he gave us the idea?_ "Sam, I owe you two my life. We are in your debt." Debt? What, like a... life debt? __Optimus, you really don't need to say that.__

The squealing of wheels made our heads turn, as Optimus stood back up. Spinning the white cab around, Mikaela hopped out, giving a quick smile to Bee before running over to join us. Sam's shoulders sank in relief, having forgotten he had left her in the ravaged street several blocks away. __He's still missing his legs though.__ Bee looked over at us, having spun himself around on the truck's platform, and gave a small wave. "Heh." __So there's Bee. But where's-?__

"Knew ya had it in you." From behind the tow truck, the sight almost made me collapse in relief. Ironhide and Ratchet walked towards us, Jazz in the middle and holding onto each of his arm's. The tear in his chest wasn't excessively leaking anymore, but was still far from repaired. "Never had a d-"

"Would you keep quiet?" Ratchet grumbled, glaring at him before throwing a look at the wound. "It's going to take cycles to repair that."

I bit back a chuckle, watching them. The mood around us was still heavy, but I appreciated the silver Bot's attempt to lighten it. Why wouldn't I still feel off? Starscream was probably still around; maybe even a few other Decepticons. I didn't even know of the number of human casualties. "Well, I did have help." Mikaela jogged over to us, equally distressed in appearance as the rest of us. __Feel off, huh?__ _ _Feel... off...?__

Optimus looked around at the gathering group, humans and Autobots. "Thank you. All of you. You honor us with your bravery." It... wasn't just the ideas of what was left behind, after the battle was over. Something didn't feel right. __I don't... my head?__ My heart...?

"Permission to speak, sir?" A voice, English in accent, spoke above Sam's head, and his and Mikaela's heads snapped upwards.

"Permission granted, old friend." The teen almost fell over, looking from Optimus to Bumblebee.

"You speak now?" __No... that's not his voice.__ It was too deep, and didn't fit Bee. Though it was much clearer than his normal radio, it was clearly not him. __The blow from the missile.__ My head was a bloody mess, and I was possibly still on the fence with a concussion from last night. __And...?__

The yellow and black Bot's own look was amused at Sam's hopefulness, but didn't confirm nor deny what he said. "I wish to stay with the boy."

"If that is his choice." It wasn't as if any of them were leaving any time soon. __Staying here... in a world not their... own... oh, no.__ My heart. The energy expended from the entire event, intermingling with everything else, and the... Allspark... __second wind gone.__

"... yes... Blake? Are you okay?" Eyes. I could feel eyes and optics on me. Why were they on me? Why... why was everything going all blurry?

"S-Sam, I..." dropped. I dropped. Sam shouted, possibly my name, as several other voices gave surprised and worried exclamations. A pair of arms were quickly wrapped around me, managing to secure my limp self from hitting the pavement and injuring myself further. It went fuzzy, sight and sound, and darkness crawled into my vision as I managed to catch just a few final images.

Lennox barking an order, possibly his soldiers to get medical. "Blake, can you hear me?" A terrified beep from the Autobot scout, bright blue optics inhumanly wide. Ratchet forcing himself from rushing over, controlling the medical officer in himself while keeping the injured Jazz in place. "Blake?" Mikaela and Sam, hanging onto either side of me, staring at my glazed eyes as they at last fell shut. "Blake!?"

* * *

 ** **Until next time!****

 ** **Angel****


	11. Split Realities

**Disclaimer: It's been kept secret for 10 chapters, but it's reached the point where Blake finally gets her truth as to what happened to her... sort of the truth. Not really clear, but some of it is figured out.**

 **Also, hope the delay wasn't bad. I know it's usually a month per chapter, but I had trouble finding time to write this and figuring it out to begin it.**

 **grapejuice101: Don't worry. There's no more cliffhangers. Though Blake had been thrown into unconsciousness three times, only the second and third time was it leading to cliffhangers.**

 **I don't own Transformers.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

 _Why do I have a habit of passing out all of a sudden?_ The world was dark again. The same, strange state that I found myself in the last time I was lost to the void. No sense of feeling, or of location. _It sucks._ This, and how I arrived there again. It was hard not to black out the sounds of panic I created upon losing consciousness, seeing Sam and Mikaela trying to keep me awake, and hearing Lennox shout for any form of medical aid. _Hope they're not traumatized after this whole mess._ As if the two needed that in addition to what already happened.

"... breathing... slow. Pulse is stable, but... signs of waking up?" Had I been able to move around, I would have stiffened at the voice. Soft, a whisper... just like the last time. _Who is it this time?_ "Have you heard from her...?"

Heard from her, what? Were they talking about me, or someone else? _Come on. Keep speaking._ "They came and visited several hours ago. It took two nurses to... do you think she'll wake up?"

"It's... hard to say. Her injuries are healing, but her brainwaves are almost dead. If it wasn't for her heart, you'd think..." in the pitch black, I felt movement on my right, and the sensation of a hand against the side of my head. For the first time since I fell into the void, I felt warmth. Warmth and... fear. Wh-why was there fear? _Think, what? What do you think?_ How badly was I hurt in Mission City? "Dr. Roberts? Can you step out for a moment?"

"O-of course. I'll wait for you in the hall." Faint thumps of footsteps, echoing within my ear. _Robert_ _s_ _?_ I couldn't feel my own body, but I felt the sensation of a lump building in my throat. Worry building in my chest. I was scared, not because I had the massive barrel of a gun facing me, but because I had no clue what was going on. _I need answers, please._

"... hey." Her voice was soft, gentle. Perhaps she could sense the concern swirling around me, even though I doubted my face portrayed any of it. "Listen, Blake... at this point, we've done all we can. It's all up to you now. You can stay, or..." the warmth appeared on my hand, and while I couldn't feel my fingers, I wanted to wrap around it. Cling to it for dear life. _D_ _on't go. Don't leave me here._ What did they mean, all up to me? What's happening? "... sleep now. If you are ready, be sure to let us know."

* * *

White. It was... white. Not a bright, blinding light shining in my face, but a sad, white painted ceiling. White ceiling tiles, white walls, and a metal grey door off to the side. All that remained in the room with me, besides the bed I rested in with sterile sheets, was a wooden desk off to the side bearing a tall vase and golden flowers. It was windowless, and overall felt more of an asylum than a hospital. _Is this a hospital? Where am I?_

"I-err-ow..." my head was throbbing, but my vision had at last been cleared of blood and gauze. It still felt as if there was something wrapped around my head though, hiding what injuries I sustained in the explosion. "A-ahh..." grimacing, I pulled myself upwards, a brief but strong burst of pain striking my brain from the motion. "O-okay, we're... gonna take this nice and slow then." Would it have been a normal room, with windows and papers detailing medical reports, I might have not been so determined to get out there. But-even with the headache and aching arm, I... had to get out. I had to find Sam, Bee, and see that everyone was okay. _Arm at least isn't in a sling, so I have that going for me._ "One... two... three!"

Throwing the two sheets off my lap, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. "Wh-too fast!" Head rush and weak legs almost sent me to the floor until I grabbed the desk nearby for support. Knees bent and almost hitting the floor, I sighed against the wood. "Let's... let's try this again." There were no crutches, and no cane. All I had was a wall, trembling limbs, and a weak grip on reality. "Here we go."

One hand on the sterile wall, mentally imagining my nails digging into the wall to keep myself upright, I hobbled towards the door, taking pause to peer out of the small window. No one was around, no one was walking up and down the hallway. _This is not a hospital._ I gripped the knob, and gave it a twist. "... huh." No alarm. That was a good sign. "Now to find the others." Because if the location was not a hospital, but perhaps a military base, then Sam and Mikaela were bound to be around. Them, and the Autobots, because where else would one hide an operation like the one we found ourselves in not long ago?

 _Bee... Jazz..._ were they fine? The scout's legs were severed, and Jazz had that ugly gash across his chest. How much energon was lost? Could they fix wounds that intense? I had to know. "Easy now." I limped out of the room, supporting my weight against the wall as I trudged through the empty corridor. There were voices, coming from closed doors along the other side; the words were blurred by the barrier. _Come on. There must be some sort of hanger around here._

There was a larger door on my side, after several minutes of wandering. A heavy metal door, with a lone soldier standing in front of it. The man turned towards the small window at eye level, checking whatever was happening on the other side. _There._ That was it. "Excuse me?"

He turned in my direction, and I had to hold back a raised brow at his face. I... I knew him. His name, I couldn't recall, but... but I knew this solider. _What film was he in?_ His hair was aged with grey streaks, and wrinkles lined his face; I swore I knew him from somewhere. "Ms. Wile?" I nodded, approaching him. "Agent Burns." He held out his hand, and using the one not against the wall, gave a tentative shake. "The Autobots were wondering when you would be waking up."

"Are they alright? What about Sam? Where are-?" He held up a hand, silencing me and my rushed questions.

"Want that in order?" _Too many at once._ I nodded again, and he brought his hand back to his side. "Everyone's banged up, but they'll live. Last time I checked on the yellow one, his legs were attached to his torso." With that, I sighed, relieved. That was... good. Great. Everyone was fine. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Shouldn't someone be making certain that I didn't leave the room?" Agent Burns smirked at the question, and stepped to the side so I could enter the bay. "What about Lennox and Epps? Simmons? Where are they?"

"SecDef is having a conference with everyone involved and what the next course of action is. As for the kids themselves, they're inside speaking to the leader." Optimus. So that meant every Autobot was inside, possibly believing I was stuck in that comatose state. "Want me to tell Captain Lennox that you're up and about?"

"Unless they come looking for me, I'd prefer it'd be kept quiet." I planted a hand on the cool metal, and offered Burns one final look before pushing open the door and sliding into the new room. The idea of it being a bay was correct, after giving it a quick once-over and quietly closing the door behind me. The ceiling was tall, taller than the Prime himself, so it was perfect for them all to gather. The doors at the far end were open, revealing the miles of pavement built for takeoffs. _Plane hanger then._ A walkway hung overhead, circling around the room, and a large semi trailer was sitting off to the side. There, currently having Ratchet fuss over him, sat a slightly sparking Jazz. The other Bots stood behind him, and at the top of the walkway was-"Sam!"

Seven heads turned in my direction, and while not clear, I could tell Sam and Mikaela were smiling at the fact I was not passed out... again. "Blake!" Sam broke off from the group, his footfalls clanging against the metal above my head as he rushed to the ladder at the opposite end. "H-how are you feeling?"

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Trudging over to the steps, I placed a hand on the grooved footing and stared upwards. _Huh._ "... yeah, this isn't going to happen." The ground under my feet shook, and I looked around the ladder to see two large blue optics staring down at me, and an awaiting hand lowered to my level. "Heh... thanks, Bee." _Nice to see you're doing well._ Sliding onto the waiting palm, the scout lifted me upwards and allowed Sam to help me onto the platform. "What did I miss?"

"Well, you were asleep for two days." He took the moment to check my reaction. It wasn't shocking, given my recent history, so I didn't know what he expected to see. "We're in an air base not far from Mission City."

"Where's your parents?" He walked back to Mikaela, and I gripped both railings to carry myself behind him, sliding along at a slow pace.

"Not sure. I think they're trying to give them some excuse for, you know, storming onto the property and threatening everyone." That... wasn't going to go well. Not for the parents, no. For the agents. _I hope Judy doesn't start up again._ She really did come close to fighting Simmons when he started talking about our 'operation'. They were definitely part of a question that I wanted an answer to, but right now, there was bigger things to stress over.

"They're going to talk to my dad too." Mikaela brushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, leaning on the railing with a thoughtful, yet amused look. "Something about erasing his record."

"That's great." It was. It was rough, but things were starting to improve for the teen. "How are you feeling, Jazz?" The silver Bot perked up at his name, flashing a grin through the sparks flying from his mending wound. _Is Ratchet fusing the metal closed, or is he applying a patch?_

"Pretty good," he said, before giving a small wince. "Hey, easy there."

"Both of you should be resting," Ratchet grumbled, turning the torch off. "Didn't your physician say anything to you?"

"Was alone when I woke up. Wanted to see if you were still breathing." _Well... whatever Bots did._ "Are you guys staying on Earth, or do you have to go and find more members of your faction?" There were more. Many more, that did not make it to Earth. No doubt, it was the same for the Cons too. Would they be forced to leave-if that was even possible-and go look for them?

"With the Allspark gone, we cannot return life to our planet." Sam, Mikaela, and I turned our attention to Optimus. Unlike the others, his height managed to surpass the walkway by an entire Cybertronian head.

"Does that mean you're staying on Earth?" Sam asked, trying to hide his hopefulness. Bee, from what I recalled before passing out, said he wanted to stay with him. If that was the case, then wouldn't the same apply for the others?

"If your government allows it, we shall stay." I smiled at that, far more than seeing Bumblebee and Jazz in one piece. I wanted them to stay. Though, how that would work I wasn't sure. _More good news... is someone staring at me?_ Glancing to the side, I saw Ratchet playing with the same scanner on his wrist that we saw days ago, giving a quick glance in my direction whilst doing so.

"Is something wrong, Ratchet?" A quirk of his brow, and I had half of his attention. Not all, since he kept looking to the data, but I had it.

"Nothing, it's just-these readings..." _readings?_ "Humans do not normally emit radiation." It wasn't phrased as a question, but it certainly did suggest one.

"No," Sam said. "But from what Simmons did, I guess you guys rubbed off on us." Sam gave off radiation, possibly more than Mikaela due to him being around Bee from the start. What did that say about me? Someone who had been by Bee, but also jumped across worlds?

"And Bumblebee did not reveal himself to you until the day before we arrived." The medic was leading to something, using Sam's words to guide him along. "By all accounts, her level should be the same as yours."

Then what was the level of rads, and did I want to know? _Was this what he noticed back in the alley?_ "Should she be concerned?" Concerned. The level of rads was probably due to ending up in this dimension. Why else would it be that high? _It's... I don't think it's lethal._ Even so, it was enough that even Ratchet was disturbed.

"No, I don't think so. But it would not hurt to run some more tests." Tests. Disturbed. Those two words easily fit into my dream state. It was all vague, as were most of my memories the longer I stayed with Sam and the others. Why though? Why were my memories leaving me? What did that doctor mean when she... _she said that it was all... up to me._ I could stay, or... "perhaps sooner rather than later would be better. Is she okay?" _No._

"Short stuff, are you feeling alright?" _No, no._ I-what happened? What happened to me, prior to arriving to this world? Why was I hearing voices that weren't there next to me? Doctors, and doing all they could?

I sank against the railing behind me, legs sliding out as Sam and Mikaela watched worriedly, taking note of my paling face. "I just..." what? Just, what? If my dreams, from before in the helicopter, and in the room I awoke in, weren't from anything happening around me, then...? _Does that mean I'm...?_ "I... I'm in a coma." _I'm comatose._

"You're-Blake, are you okay?" Sam knelt down in front of me, Mikaela peering over his shoulder worriedly. How could they not be worried, I just admitted that I thought I was in a coma. In short, everything-all of what I had been through, what I had seen and experienced could've... could have been nothing but a dream. That they were figments of a mind drifting between life and death. I-it would explain so, so much though. _It explains everything._ Why I couldn't recall how I ended up in Tranquility; why memories of Transformers kept leaving me. "You're... you're starting to scare me here."

"A coma. You do realize that you're implying that this is a dream," Mikaela said, speaking up. "How hard did you hit your head?"

"I'm not-guys, I'm not making this up. Think about it." I wanted to get to my feet, hands clenched in fists at my sides and argue at them for doubting me, but... I was tired. My body hadn't recovered yet, and I didn't think my legs would let me get up if I tried. "You heard what they said. I don't exist. An agency, hidden from everyone, says that I don't exist on this Earth."

"On this Earth?" Hide repeated. Jazz still sat, but the others had gathered closer, a half circle around us humans.

 _Right. They missed that part._ "It's-oh, boy. How do I explain this?" It wasn't only a problem to explain the coma part, but this-this was something I hadn't given much thought to. How was I suppose to explain that they were fiction- _they're not. They're not fictional._ Everything-after everything I'd been through, could I honestly state that this was all fake? I felt pain. I could hurt. So then, that couldn't have been a coma, right? Comas did not have you experience cuts and bruises. _Am I stuck in some in-between? What is it?_ "Sam, you... you're a nerd, right?" He blinked, and Mikaela had to hold back a small laugh at the blunt question. "Have you ever heard of something like a... multiverse?"

"Yeah? What about it?" I remained expressionless, letting his brain try to work around my vague explanation. If I flat-out told them, the Bots might not be so quick to come around. I needed to take things carefully, and not make them suspicious of me. "... you... you got to be kidding me." _There it is._ His eyes were wide, confusion and alarm written clear as day over his face. "You're saying you're from a different Earth."

"One a decade or so ahead of yours, if you want to be specific." The tech shift was annoying, and it felt weird seeing how awful cell phones and the Internet was back then. "But... yeah, either it's an alternate Earth or a c-coma, I'm not from... here."

"Blake." _There it is._ Ironhide, and apparently Optimus too, could read me like a book. He could tell I was not answering everything to the absolute. The Prime also did not need to speak any further. Just from his tone, the message of 'be honest' was clear as day.

"Blake?" _Dang it, Sam. Don't try and sound so pitiful._ Truth. They wanted-how was I supposed to do that? How was I going to, when I couldn't recall the facts of the future or the past? _What do I do?_

I pulled myself to my feet, a struggle in itself, and tried to ignore the feeling of eyes and optics on my shoulders. Confusion, suspicion; I felt many mixed emotions. Sam and Mikaela, they might believe me already. With what Simmons had said in the vehicle, days earlier, they had some proof that I wasn't from this world. The Autobots though, that was complicated. Difficult. I had to say something that only they would know. That no other human would have knowledge of. _Think, girl. W_ _hat can I say that... hmm?_

There was... something. Outside of the films, buried in the fog encasing my mind, there was one thing. The question was, would it work? Would they believe me, after all we had been through? Or would Ironhide think I was some sort of Decepticon spy and blast me into the next dimension? _It's not like I have many options at this point._ "Blake?" _I can't just stay silent._ I registered the hand on my shoulder and Sam's voice, and sighed. _Let's see if it works._

"... Or... Orion Pax." I looked up at the Prime, and while the metal plates that made up his face remained more-or-less in place, I could see the shifts. Faintly, brows raised a little in surprise, and I knew I had it right. "That's your name before you became Prime, right? Orion Pax?"

His optics didn't leave me, however, his next few words were directed to his partially incapacitated lieutenant. "... Jazz, have you...?

"I never said a thing, Prime. Don't think Bee did either, did you?" Bee quickly shook his head, the same shock shared between them, and everyone else. Ironhide had a slight glare, but thankfully, didn't pull any guns. He was suspicious, and he had every right to be. Sam was important, and I had shown up out of the blue before they arrived. Before Bee could get to him. But I wasn't a spy, regardless of what he, or the others thought.

"I have no reason to lie to any of you." I threw myself off a building alongside Sam to protect the Cube. I had raw alien energy ripping at open wounds as I assisted him in killing a megalomaniac warlord. Why the hell would I be lying, now, of all times? What did I have to gain about making something like this up? "Sam." Throughout my attempt to prove myself, Sam had fallen silent. "Please, you-you have to believe me."

"What... makes you think you're in a coma?" _Huh?_ "Besides the... other thing, what makes you think you're in a coma?"

"O-oh. That... um, well..." two, to be specific. There were two times I had proof. "You... ever hear of cases where someone is in some sort of... place where they're not quite dead, or not quite alive? When you're aware of people speaking about you, you hear them talk about your condition. You're... trapped within your own body."

"Was this when you were knocked out?" I turned to Mikaela, trying to get herself to speak up, and join in the confused madness I had started. "Back in Tranquility?"

"I thought it was just people talking about the state of my arm, and how hard of a hit I got when I was tackled." It was a coincidence. My state now, and my state then, both suffered arm injuries. But... low brain activity... that never happened while I was stuck there. _At least, I don't think it did._ "I'm... I'm losing my memories, Mikaela. I'm losing pieces practically every minute... heh." _W_ _hat else could go wrong?_

The door opened without warning, and a group of about a dozen people walked in. To my slight disappointment, Maggie and Glen weren't with them. However, Epps and Lennox were there, as well as several of the other men in his unit. _Simmons is missing too._ I could live with not seeing him right away. It was the man at the front that I was most worried about.

SecDef looked around at us, taking in the sight of all five of the aliens, before spotting Sam, Mikaela, and I up on the walkway. Giving a quick nod, satisfied that we were all in one place, he turned his attention to the Autobots. "After discussion, the President has ordered Sector Seven to be terminated and the remains of the dead aliens disposed of." Megatron. Him, and the other Cons that were taken down during the fight in Mission City. I knew Starscream was not part of that, and I had no idea if the cop Con was in there or not. _Just means we'll.. have to search for them._ "The Laurentian Abyss is seven miles below sea level, deepest place on our planet. The massive depth and pressure there, coupled with subfreezing temperatures, would crush and entomb them, leaving no evidence."

"And what about Blake?" Sam asked, throwing a quick look at me. "You guys guaranteed that she'd not have the government chasing after her."

"I'd... rather not have that happen." My voice was still flat from before, but I wanted to say something. Show actual concern for what would happen to me. _Because I have no idea what I'm doing next._ "So...?"

The Secretary smiled, an attempt possibly to relieve the worry about my personal safety. "Though having you wander without supervision is not something we can easily give, due to your status, we are prepared to give you some of the same accommodations as them."

Them, being the Autobots. "So... what does that imply, exactly?" I was human, no matter if this was a dream or not. No matter if this was real or not, I did not want the government going against me, and having the absolutely stupid and inhumane idea of booting me off the planet be a possibility.

"You will live on a base, same as the Autobots." I switched from the older man to Lennox, relieved to hear a familiar voice. That was good, hearing them not being referred as only the aliens. _Living on base, huh?_ That sounded... isolating. I liked to imagine that meant I could still leave, but no doubt under supervision. _I don't have an ID. Hate to think what would happen if the police tried searching me up._ "You're not being locked up or anything, but officials think having you out of public eye would make things easier."

"Fair enough... how are you feeling, Lennox?" The captain, same as SecDef, smiled. I didn't know what went on in the dam once we all left, but I knew that Epps and him had to handle one of the Cons by themselves. A dozen or so men taking on a monster of an alien while Sam and I ran for our lives. Was he injured too? He seemed to be standing without any problem.

"Few bruised ribs, but I'll live." Lennox turned his focus to Ratchet, who had taken up a blowtorch again. "Can you make sure she doesn't hurt herself getting back down?" _What, is the doctor looking for-actually, they probably are._ Someone had to have been observing me. If they came back after I left, of course they'd panic.

Ratchet didn't give a clear answer, only a small grumble as he honed in on several wires within Jazz's chest cavity, having split from Megatron's attack. From the mech's face, it wasn't pleasant. Nonetheless, the captain took it as a yes. Lennox gave a small nod in my direction before following the rest of the officials and soldiers out of the door. The instant the echoing bang of metal filled the room, I all but sank against the guardrail. "... oh." I sighed, and felt Sam at my side. "Ehehe... hehehe..." was I delirious? I probably shouldn't have taken off so soon, and just remained there in bed. Under the sheets, in the empty white room with my thoughts. However, after discussing what I suspected with the teens and Bots, staying alone was the last thing I needed right now.

Mikaela was on my other side, and I gripped my forehead. Bandages, thick ones, went around my skull, and my weak laugh continued, as did the slowly growing 'boom, boom, boom' inside it. It was a joke. A horrible, twisted joke. Did I get in an accident, and my job and appreciation of vehicles force my brain to recreate this world? Perhaps the Cybertronians were real, and I was trapped between realities, which was why I could hear the doctors and nurses in whatever room my body rested in. It... I didn't know. I had no way of knowing the absolute truth of what was happening. All I knew was that one, inexcusable fact. _I'm stuck between worlds._ I was between life and death with no way out.

* * *

 **It's only a guess, but I think there's perhaps 2 chapters left in this story. Could be 1 more, depending on what it is. Still trying to figure out how to wrap it up. Either way, it's almost at the end.**

 **Important to note, if it wasn't clear, was that Blake never actually said they were fictional in her world. Only that the small mention of Prime's real name indicated she knew about the Bots before her arrival. That will be discussed in the next chapter.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Angel**


	12. The Next Step

**Disclaimer: I thought it over, and in the end, I arrived with one more chapter to wrap things up. I couldn't think of what to do for two of them. It sort of falls the same way the second chapter did too, with a time skip over the unimportant stuff. Even with that, I feel like this was a good way to end the story. Sort of leaves some things open-ended, unfortunately, but, oh well.**

 **At the same time, given that it took a long time to get the last chapter up, I figured posting this final chapter sooner helped even things out. Plus, I managed to finish this far faster than I'd thought. It felt weird to wait a few more weeks.**

 **d8rkforcen1ght7:** **This story meant this one, as in the one right now. I don't have a sequel in mind. Seeing how much trouble I had to finish this one,** **plus it took over a year to get through 12 chapters,** **I don't plan to continue.**

 **I don't own Transformers.**

"Speaking"

 _Thinking_

* * *

The warmth of the Nevada sun was pleasant, occasionally giving a brief pause of cool with a passing cloud. Compared to before, when we raced through the desert and fought out in the city, it was a relief. Something that, at least in my head, helped ease the tension of what transpired almost a week ago.

A week. It had been a week since I awoke in the air base, since I sewn together a mishmash of what happened to have landed me in the alternate Earth. Even with the past few days, after I more-or-less broke down between Sam and Mikaela, I still couldn't determine which was the right answer. If I was in a coma and everything was an extremely realistic dream, or I was in a coma and somehow my body and mind was split. Honestly, I... probably would never get that answer.

Speaking of the two humans, they had gone back to Tranquility, with Bee arriving not far behind them. Once Optimus had debriefed him on what should happen if an alert of Decepticon activity came up, he drove himself back to the Witwicky household. From there, I wasn't sure of what happened. If Sam informed Judy and Ron of the truth, behind their abduction and his car, and... well, I doubted he informed them of my status. At least, the part about the coma. If he wanted to try and say I wasn't from this Earth, he could, but what are the chances they'd believe that one?

The government was still trying to find a good base for the other Cybertronians, which meant our current location was where we would stay for the meantime. Jazz had been fully mended by that point, and Optimus had been busy with speaking to what officials knew of their existence. Voice only, for those who had not met him in person. They wanted it to be as secretive as possible. Ironhide and Lennox had formed some strange friendship, possibly due to the captain's rather reckless stunt in taking down Brawl. Just as Bee had become Sam's guardian, Hide seemed set on following him back to his home, back to his wife and new daughter. Leave he may, but Lennox and Epps still wanted to work with the Autobots. _I wouldn't mind that either, come to think of it._

I knew engines, and I knew machines. Maybe it was also due to my bold and very stupid attack against Megatron and my friendship with the Bots, but Lennox had spoken up to have me go through training, and join whatever crew was formed once things were set in stone. A team of Bots and humans, hunting down the Cons that had gone into hiding. Dangerous, of course, but nothing too horrible.

 _But back to the... questionable truth of my case..._ "Jazz, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't loom over me." The silver Bot smirked down at me, leaning against the side of the building. A collection of jeeps and trucks were parked outside, making a nice private place to rest and be alone with my thoughts. Alone, until the first lieutenant managed to find my hiding spot. "Don't you have an appointment with the Hatchet?"

Jazz chuckled at the nickname I graced the medical officer. "Just a quick scan. Not gettin' torn apart today. What 'bout you?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at the small knots. "I don't know. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Trying, and failing. The truth about their existence, to say the truth, might not ever come out. All they knew, from that one moment of saying Prime's old name, was that I knew of them. How, it didn't matter. If they wanted to know, and it got the point I had to say how, then I would. But now, now I had to figure out this problem. "Suppose I am in a coma. That's pretty sound right now. What then? From what I heard, my body appears to be stable, but all of my brain activity is here." _And whatever sort of body this is._

"Do you think it's still all in your head?" I heard the worry in his voice. He might be a good liar, and I believed he had been in cases where he had to hide classified information, but I knew he was concerned. Troubled that I possibly thought he was nothing but my imagination.

"... no, I don't think so. Comas don't make you feel pain, and you saw how my face looked when Starscream decided to fire." My face was... somewhat healed. A deep scar ran over the side of my forehead, jumping to the side right above my eyebrow before ending just before my ear. As for the ear itself, it had a rather ugly stitched line on the outer part. Throughout the entire mess, a portion of the appendage had been split apart, but because of Lennox's quick bandaging, I had never even noticed.

When I first saw myself in the mirror, I... I recognized myself, but at the same time, I-I didn't. Sam, Mikaela, everyone saw me when I had stepped out of that room. They saw my scars, but never said anything. All they saw at that moment, was that I was alive; alive and not six feet under. _Given that I was out for two days, who could blame them?_ I was alive and in one piece. Scarred, and confused, but alive. "Wish I could say the same as the other me," I sighed. "Either I somehow 'wake up', or..."

"Or you pass on." _Yep. That._ "You want my opinion?" Shuffling around on the truck's bed, sitting on a spare tire resting inside, I nodded. There were few people who's opinion I would take, and Jazz was one of the higher ones on that list. No offence to Bee, but as much as I enjoyed hanging around him, it was difficult to carry a conversation for long periods. Perhaps it was easier for the others, because he still could use a com-link. "I think you're just gonna have to let it play out. Ya can't really do anything right now."

"Carry on, then, huh?" _He's right._ It was all I could do, to let things go as they were now. "Speaking honestly here, Jazz, I don't know if it's a good idea for me to... to wake up, to begin with. If I am divided between realities, imagine the shock and adjustment I'd have to go through. I don't know how long I had been in that state." Whatever caused me to be sent there, randomly appearing on Sam's lawn, could have had some delay factor. For all I know, it could have been a few hours in the other world, or it could have been weeks. I had no idea. "I could remain here, try and live as much of a normal life as I can. I can still try to-to figure out what happened to me. At the same time, should I return there, I might have to push myself through rehab. Who knows what damage was done to my body."

"Lot of thinkin' to do," he added, crossing his arms over his chest. "On another note, what 'bout your guardian?"

 _Bot say what now?_ "M-mine?" Why did I need a Bot to watch over me? Wasn't living there with the four of them enough?

"Didn't think you'd be able to run around without supervision, right?" _Yeah, they did say that._ I needed someone to hang close if I left the base. Before, I just figured it meant Sam or one of the soldiers. I never really gave much thought to an Autobot. "What do you think?"

"I, uh..." _is he being serious?_ A guardian. An alien guardian. I-so anything normal was long gone, ever since I realized who Sam was. This was just icing on the ever-growing cake. Soon, we'd be able to host a wedding for a party of several hundred people. _Still, between the remaining group, it really does make sense._ Outside of Bee and Hide, there were only three other people who could've filled that role. Ratchet hadn't appeared to fully come around to the idea of humans yet, though I think given time, that would change. Optimus was busy figuring out the future of his team, which left Jazz. The only other person besides Bee who I actively spoke to.

"Y'know, Bee also wanted to do the job, but that's sort of hard given the location." Uncrossing his arms, he circled around the vehicle and knelt down in front of me. He was still taller than my perch, but the effort was still appreciative. "What do you say?"

 _I say this is going to be a very interesting friendship, that's what._ "... ah, what the heck. Could be fun." I held out a hand, and with a quirked brow, Jazz carefully grabbed it with the tips of his fingers. _He could crush my hand if he wanted to._ Shaking, with more effort on my end, I let go and hopped off my perch. Feet hitting the pavement, I smiled up at him. "As long as you can keep up with me."

"Pretty sure that's suppose to be the other way 'round, short stuff." He stood up, and looked back towards the bay door. Following his line of sight, the rest of the group exited out into the open, heading over in our direction once they spotted us. I never could get used to that, seeing them. It was always a form of awe. Of wonder, watching the intricate pieces of metal shift and change to allow movement; how their faces portrayed emotion.

Jazz collapsed into vehicle mode next to me, and once the trio got closer, I could hear the same odd language that I had heard the Cons speak, albeit briefly. Grinding noises, and at the same time, something else. Something that I wasn't quite sure a human could mimic with their vocal cords. Once they were close enough, they dropped, parts hurrying to resemble their alternate forms. No speaking to Jazz or I, but perhaps they already had spoke to him before he went in search for me. _They were speaking in Cybertronian, so of course they didn't plan to speak to me._

Turning away from them and reaching for the door handle, I paused, fingertips scarcely touching the silver. Looking over at the others-the Topkick, the Hummer, and the Peterbilt-I threw a quick glance at Jazz before abandoning the driver's door and running over to the giant of a vehicle. He didn't speak, nor did I hear Jazz question my last-ditch action. Once I reached his side, the Prime's door swung open, and I clambered up and into the cabin. The door closed behind me, and with a loud blast of a horn, we pulled out and off towards the exit of the base.

 _Thanks, Prime._ Taking the belt, I buckled myself in and snuggled into the seat. It was warm, and the interior was the same clean and brand new state as Bee's. At the center of the steering wall, same as the scout, was the Autobot insignia. Though, unlike his, this one was outlined in red, matching the semi's color scheme. A soldier waved us through, and I watched the radio dials off to the side before settling on a station playing classic rock. Whether he enjoyed the music, or he was trying to improve the drive, I didn't mind. It was a nice background noise.

But besides the music, the ride was quiet, and I was thankful for that. I didn't exactly feel like having an active conversation. _Sort of why I chose to sit with someone else. Sorry, Jazz._ All I did was watch the scenery fly past, watching what few cars were on the road pass our strange convoy. Slowly, my head slid against the glass, and I felt the adjustment of the air conditioner turn in my direction. _Hmm?_ "Is something wrong, Blake?"

"No, everything's fine, Optimus. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." _Stuff that I'd rather not unload on my new guardian._ He fell quiet, and I frowned at my response. Could I have phrased that better? "Sorry, it's..."

"You are having trouble coming to terms." I nodded, not moving my head to face the dashboard. I had to assume that was where his face was. He was able to see me, and that was the only place where it made sense. _Just like Bee._ "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"... I do, but... give me time to work up the courage. I don't think I can handle it yet." I needed-what, several weeks, maybe even more before I could give the full story. The story that involved them existing as a franchise in my Earth, and not as intergalactic refugees. For now, I had to handle the awkwardness I left behind from the brief hint. _And whatever_ _idea Hide has going on._ He still held some mixed feelings towards me. At least in the case of Ratchet, I was more of a mystery, one that he wanted to try and figure out. A medical query. There were a lot of scans done after that initial talk, and there would probably be more down the road. "Is that okay with you?"

He didn't answer right away, the only sound being the rumble of the Peterbilt's engine. Rolling off of the main road after the silent ride, and entering Tranquility's town limits, he at last spoke. "Whenever you are ready to talk, do not hesitate to seek me out."

"Heh..." he had been through horrible things. All of them had. They were in a war that no doubt waged on longer than any of us had been alive. Was it possible he had seen this before? Some Cybertronian who got swept up in the fray, got separated from their family? Someone they rescued from interrogation? The Prime must have seen behavior such as mine before, because while he appeared to dislike giving me distance, he knew what to say. "Thank you, Optimus. I'll keep that in mind."

The streets were familiar, as were the houses and businesses I saw when I first awoke in the neighborhood. Turning along the ever-growing dusty roads, we led the way out towards a path that brought an immediate smile to my face. _So that's where we're going. Shocker._ The cliff was secluded, a perfect place for them to meet up with Sam and the others. If they wanted to transform, to stretch their legs, no one would find them. "There they are," I said, more to myself than to him. Pulling to a stop, I hopped out of the massive cab and jogged over to them. Bee was parked under the shade of the tree, while Sam and Mikaela leaned against his hood. "You two look good."

They did, and, they were holding hands. "Yeah, well, wish I could say the same about my head." He let go of Mikaela. "Mom wasn't... pleased, with what happened."

"She found out about Bee, or she found out about how you threw yourself off of a building?" Sam dipped his head, a slight red in his face, and Mikaela struggled to hide back a laugh. _Well, which one is it?_

"It-both. N-not the building part, but the bit in Mission City." He sighed, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. They definitely fared far better in the battle than I had. Due to wearing short sleeved shirts, I could easily see the scars and bruises decorating their arms. Mikaela herself had multiple cuts around her hands, possibly from when she broke into the vehicle. Mindful as she was, she still managed to get scratched. Sam's hands, on the other hand, were just like mine. Despite the energy the Allspark threw at us, we hadn't suffered any burns. _Doesn't mean we didn't feel it though._ There were others; faint scars around their faces from the explosion, same as me. However, those would fade over time. "She's going to want to meet the others."

"Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd." We looked down at Bee, and I rose a brow at the interesting lyrics. _That either means he's agreeing with us, or...?_

"She went after Bee with a bat?" I asked, voicing the second idea. Did I have that right?

"Surprised you figured that out," Sam remarked. "It was a slow and... difficult process."

"There was a lot of screaming," Mikaela added. "His dad and mine took it a lot easier." She smiled to herself, amused at that memory. Her dad probably did get a kick out of it, hearing how she fought alongside aliens that turned into cars. As for Ron, I already had a feeling he would take it easier than Judy.

The familiar sound of a transformation halted our discussion, and we turned to see Optimus standing to his full height. _Huh._ Watching him wander off to the side, I turned my attention back to the two. "Still plan to try and meet up?" The air base was temporary. For all I know, I could end up across the country. Heck, maybe even a different continent. Right now, I wanted to see them as often as I could.

"Bee passed by a diner around the halfway point from there to Tranquility. We could try that." _Ah, classic diner food._ I'd be up for eggs and bacon any day.

"Sounds great. We can work on a time and date later." The clicks of doors unlocking, and the Camaro's doors swung open. Not saying goodbye, but instead offering a friendly smile, the two dipped back inside. _They're cute._ Sam was still a mess, but the incident seemed to give some more confidence. The same strength I observed back in the stairwell was still there, although, not as strong. Mikaela seemed a lot happier too, and compared to when I saw her with the guy at the party, it seemed genuine. _And... now they're kissing. Couldn't they have waited until I moved?_

Leaning against the tree, and trying to blank the romance happening off to the side, I looked up at Optimus, tuning in to his transmission. "-and fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting."

A soft beep, almost like a whine, came to my right, and I left my post to return to Jazz. _Poor Bee,_ I smiled, shaking my head in a mute laugh. The door opened, and I slid inside, the window rolling down so I could continue to listen. "I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And though we are worlds apart. Like us, there's more to them... than meets the eye." From the window on the passenger's side, I could see Mikaela and Sam had paused in their make out session from their own seats inside the yellow and black striped Camaro, hearing that same phrase the teen had used on her so long ago. _And you thought it was cheesy. Dork._ "I am Optimus Prime. And I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We... are waiting."

 _We are... waiting, huh?_ I looked up to the sky, past the windshield and out over the cliff we all stood on. _Guess that settles it._ No matter how long it took, I would find out what happened to me. Even if I... passed away, I needed to know. I needed my closure.

 _I'll find it._ I rested a hand on the dashboard, giving a quick glance at the Autobot crest, the shining silver lighting up under the Nevada sun. _I'm certain of it._

* * *

 **Perhaps somewhere down the road, I might write a sequel for this. But for now, I'll be letting this rest. Mostly since I have no idea where to go next, and I need to wait for ideas and motivation to come back before I can tackle it.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Angel**


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